A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington alleges that the Trump administration violated U.S. law by sharing confidential asylum application information for Iranian nationals with the Iranian government. The complaint, filed by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund and Public Citizen Litigation Group, contends that the release of such sensitive data could endanger pro-democracy activists, members of religious minorities, LGBTQ individuals, and their families in Iran.
The legal filing claims that officials from the Trump administration provided Tehran with detailed information about roughly 150 Iranian asylum seekers slated for deportation during a March 2025 meeting between State Department representatives and the Iranian Interests Section, which operates at the Embassy of Pakistan due to the absence of formal diplomatic ties between the United States and Iran. Following the initial meeting, the lawsuit alleges a series of subsequent monthly exchanges between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and Iranian representatives continued to share additional documentation, despite the suspension of in-person meetings after the outbreak of hostilities between the U.S. and Israel against Iran in late February 2026.
The defendants named in the lawsuit include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and acting ICE Director David Venturella, alongside their respective agencies. The lawsuit seeks to halt the alleged disclosure practice and demands notification to any individuals whose personal information was shared without consent.
Advocates for the plaintiffs emphasize the potentially life-threatening consequences of such information sharing given Iran’s documented human rights abuses. A State Department human rights report released in 2025 under the Trump administration described worsening conditions in Iran, highlighting crackdowns on political protests and persecution of minority groups, including LGBTQ persons who reportedly face prosecution and degrading treatment.
Since President Trump’s return to office in 2025, the administration has deported over 100 Iranians, according to advocacy groups and Iranian media reports. Iranian officials had earlier agreed to accept approximately 400 deportees from the United States. Some deportations reportedly included individuals from vulnerable groups, although it is unclear how many had pending asylum claims.
Responding to inquiries, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman categorically denied the allegations that ICE shared asylum records with the Iranian government, describing such claims as "false." She stated that ICE works with foreign countries only to facilitate travel documents and consular access for detainees, in compliance with relevant laws and policies. The State Department declined to comment on "private diplomatic discussions," while the Iranian Mission to the United Nations and the Pakistani Embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit incorporates accounts from unnamed Iranian government officials based at the Pakistani Embassy and testimonies from deportees who asserted that Iranian authorities possessed detailed information about their asylum applications. How the government will respond to the legal challenge remains uncertain, as does the case’s eventual outcome.