A lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., accuses the Trump administration of sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government, potentially violating federal immigration regulations and endangering the individuals involved. The complaint, brought by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund and the Public Citizen Litigation Group, alleges a coordinated effort between U.S. and Iranian officials to identify detained Iranians and pressure them to return to Iran, despite longstanding diplomatic hostility and ongoing conflict between the two countries.
According to the lawsuit, beginning in March 2025, the U.S. State Department arranged monthly meetings with Iranian officials, using the Pakistani Embassy as an intermediary, during which sensitive details about Iranian immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were shared. The information provided reportedly included asylum application data, encompassing claims from individuals who said they faced persecution due to their religion, sexual orientation, or participation in the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom protests against the Iranian government.
The complaint further alleges that ICE compelled Iranian asylum seekers, held at detention centers mainly in southern states, to meet with an Iranian government official with intricate knowledge of their cases. This practice carried on even after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began in February 2026, escalating hostilities. The lawsuit argues that these actions violate federal rules established in the late 1990s, which prohibit sharing information that could reveal an individual’s asylum status, a protection Congress deemed essential to safeguard lives.
Public records indicate that roughly 600 Iranians were held in immigration detention in 2025. The lawsuit also notes a notable shift in U.S. policy: in June 2026, an Iranian woman was among about two dozen migrants deported to the Central African Republic, marking a departure from a decades-long tradition of granting asylum to Iranian dissidents and others fleeing persecution following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement has been characterized by an expansive crackdown, with more than 600,000 deportations reported in 2025 alone and nearly 1.9 million voluntary departures attributed to increased enforcement measures. Iranian officials confirmed in September 2025 that as many as 400 Iranians could be returned under agreements with the U.S., with three deportation flights occurring between that September and January 2026. Reports at the time indicated that some deportees were asylum applicants.
The lawsuit names the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the defendants. It seeks to stop the sharing of asylum seekers’ information with the Iranian government and requests appointment of an independent monitor to oversee compliance with confidentiality rules.
Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department declined to comment on the allegations. Advocates for the plaintiffs assert that the administration’s actions prioritize deportation enforcement over protecting vulnerable individuals, even amid escalating tensions and conflict between the United States and Iran.