An Iranian academic couple, who entered the U.S. legally in 2014 and became permanent residents in 2016, have described their detention in the U.S. as "hell" after their legal status was revoked. The couple, Maryam Tahmasebi and her husband, whose family is linked to the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, had their legal residency terminated in a move that occurred amid heightened U.S.-Iran hostilities and increased scrutiny of relatives of Iranian officials abroad.
In an essay, Tahmasebi wrote that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security declined the family's request for voluntary departure in July, and that the government opposed their attempts to self-deport. The government instead considered a stipulated removal, where a noncitizen waives their right to a deportation hearing. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson encouraged "illegal aliens" to use the CBP Home App for voluntary departure.
Less than a week after an online petition in January called for Hashemi's deportation due to his mother's involvement in the 1979 hostage crisis, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the revocation of the family's status. Rubio's announcement did not specify if Tahmasebi or Hashemi committed wrongdoing or posed a national security threat. A State Department spokesman stated the department "does not divulge protected, sensitive, or classified information pertaining to the termination of legal status of foreign nationals," but added that the government reserves the right to terminate the status of those who "pose a threat to the national security interests of the U.S."
Maria Kari, a member of Tahmasebi's legal team, told the BBC that the State Department has not charged the family under any national security provision of immigration laws and has presented no evidence to support its allegations. "If the government had any evidence that this family threatened national security, it has had several opportunities to say so but the government has not," Kari said.
Prior to their arrest, Tahmasebi and Hashemi lived in Los Angeles and worked in academia. A federal judge has temporarily blocked their deportation after their lawyers challenged their detention and filed for their release.
The U.S. government has previously terminated the legal status of other individuals with ties to Iranian officials. This includes two Iranian women identified by the government as the niece and grandniece of IRGC Major General Qasem Soleimani, though Soleimani's family later denied the relation and subsequent reporting cast doubt on the U.S. claim. The State Department also revoked the status of the daughter of Ali Larijani, former Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
These actions come as some diaspora activists have identified relatives of Iranian officials abroad and campaigned to revoke their legal status, particularly amid Iran's crackdown on protesters. The U.S. decision to revoke the family's status occurred amidst several enforcement actions against relatives of regime officials as U.S.-Iran hostilities escalated this year.