A lawsuit filed recently claims that U.S. immigration agencies under the Trump administration disclosed confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers to the Iranian government. This action allegedly violates national immigration laws, according to court documents. The lawsuit suggests collaboration between the U.S. and Iranian governments to identify Iranians held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and pressure them into returning to Iran. This alleged cooperation marks a significant shift from the historically strained diplomatic relations between the two nations.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has strongly denied any sharing of asylum application data with Iranian authorities. Public records, however, show that approximately 600 Iranians were detained last year, as reported by the National Iranian American Council. In June, an Iranian woman was among the group deported to the Central African Republic, diverging from the longstanding U.S. tradition of offering refuge to Iranian dissidents since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Federal regulations established in the late 1990s prohibit the U.S. from exchanging information that could identify individuals who have applied for asylum. “Congress made these confidentiality protections mandatory precisely because lives depend on them,” stated Ali Rahnama, interim executive director of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund.
Starting in March 2025, the U.S. State Department reportedly held monthly meetings with Iranian officials via the Pakistani embassy. These meetings allegedly involved sharing sensitive details about detained Iranian immigrants whom the U.S. wished to deport, as described in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
The lawsuit argues that the information shared included details about asylum claims related to religious conversion to Christianity, sexuality, or activism, such as participation in the Women, Life, Freedom protests against the Iranian government in 2022. Despite joint U.S.-Israeli military actions against Iran in February 2026, ICE reportedly forced Iranian asylum seekers to meet with Iranian officials who were already informed about their specific asylum details.
Homeland Security affirmed that ICE “facilitates consular access to detained individuals, in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and agency policy.” Any claims that ICE shared asylum applications with Iran are “FALSE,” according to DHS.
The lawsuit aims to stop the disclosure of asylum seekers’ information to the Iranian government and calls for an independent monitor to ensure no future breaches occur. Michael Kirkpatrick, an attorney at Public Citizen Litigation Group, criticized the administration’s alleged deportation focus despite ongoing hostilities with Iran.
The lawsuit names DHS, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, among others. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies led to approximately 600,000 deportations and motivated about 1.9 million voluntary departures in 2025 alone. By September 2025, Iran acknowledged the potential return of 400 Iranians under a deal with the Trump administration. The first of three deportation flights to Iran took place that month, followed by flights in December 2025 and January 2026, just weeks before open conflict with Iran erupted and amid a violent crackdown on Iranian protests.
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