A newly filed lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration shared confidential information with Tehran about Iranian asylum seekers as it worked to deport them from the United States, putting them at risk of persecution, torture, and death following their arrival in Iran.

Background

Many Iranian asylum seekers in the US are pro-democracy protestors, members of religious minorities, or members of the LGBTQ community – people who would face grave risks if they were forced to return to Iran. The lawsuit names Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement David Venturella, and their respective agencies as defendants.

The lawsuit was filed by Public Citizen on behalf of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund. A DHS spokesperson denied the allegations, stating that they are FALSE. The State Department had no comment on the lawsuit.

Deportation Efforts

As part of its severe deportation agenda, the Trump administration has carried out at least three deportation flights to remove dozens of Iranians from the US, including one as recently as January when deadly crackdowns against anti-government protests were sweeping Iran.

The lawsuit claims that the US is working with the Iranian Government on another mass deportation flight to Iran in the coming weeks. It alleges that the administration has provided details on hundreds of Iranian detainees seeking asylum to the Iranian government as it sought to deport them under a rare agreement between Washington and Tehran, which do not have diplomatic relations.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the stop the sharing of the confidential information, declare the policy of doing so to be unlawful, to identify and notify asylum seekers whose information was shared with the Iranian government and stop any deportations until such work is done.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.