Warning Over Fate of Christian Citizen and Deportation of Iranian Asylum Seekers from America
Two Iranian asylum seekers, one of whom is Christian, were deported from the United States without following legal procedures, raising concerns among human rights organizations.
“Ali Harisch”, an immigration attorney in the United States, announced that the U.S. government returned two Iranian asylum seekers to Iran without observing legal procedures. One of these individuals is identified as a Christian citizen who now faces the risk of harassment and persecution in Iran.
Harisch stated in an interview with ABC News that his two clients entered the United States from the southern border last year to file asylum requests, but were recently removed from the detention tracking system of the immigration authority and subsequently returned to Iran without prior notice.
He added that one of these individuals is a Christian citizen who entered the United States earlier this year with his pregnant wife. According to the immigration attorney, the asylum request of this individual was rejected following his detention and a deportation order was issued. His wife, who recently gave birth to their child, remains in the United States and is not in detention.
The New York Times reported on October 8 that the Donald Trump administration returned approximately 100 Iranian migrants to Iran on a chartered flight. Additionally, “Hossein Nushabad”, the Parliamentary and Consular Director General of the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic, confirmed that the U.S. immigration authority intends to return approximately 400 Iranian citizens to the country, with 120 of them set to arrive in Iran within one to two days.
Harisch continued, saying: “We made numerous attempts to file for reconsideration, but suddenly without any notice, we discovered he had disappeared from the immigration authority’s system, and then we learned that a number of Iranians had been deported.” He added that his client’s wife was able to contact him briefly, and he explained that the entire journey to Iran was completed while shackled and handcuffed.
The United States government has not officially confirmed the deportation of this group of Iranians. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies have faced widespread criticism from human rights activists.
Christian citizens in Iran have been targets of organized suppression for years; suppression that includes detention, security pressure, and social deprivation, and has repeatedly been criticized by international organizations.
However, the issue is not limited to Iran. Christians in many parts of the world have consistently faced oppression and harassment, while European countries, despite being signatories to the International Covenant on Human Rights, have in many cases failed to provide effective and genuine protection. This contradiction between human rights commitments and actual government practice is once again evident in the case of Iranian asylum seekers being deported from America.
