“That information could put [asylum-seekers] in grave risk upon return,” Kirkpatrick said. “They could be detained. They could be interrogated. They could be sent to prison. They could be tortured. As well as the risk to their family and acquaintances who remain in Iran.”
A recently-filed lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of intentionally and systematically sharing the names of Iranian asylum-seekers with Tehran, giving Iran’s government the chance to select certain individuals for deportation.
According to The New York Times, the lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say that, before the United States went to war with Iran, officials from the State Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement worked directly with the Iranian government to expel migrants, including dissidents and others potentially subject to political persecution in their homeland.
The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, a named plaintiff in the lawsuit, said that coordination between officials in Washington and Tehran likely violated Department of Homeland Security regulations that prohibit the disclosure of sensitive information provided by asylum-seekers attempting to obtain refugee status in the United States.
“The law is very clear that information within an asylum application or other applications for similar forms of protection cannot be shared particularly with the government that the individual is fleeing,” said Michael Kirkpatrick, an attorney with Public Citizen told NPR
NPR notes that Public Citizen’s Litigation Group is representing the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund in the lawsuit.
“That information could put [asylum-seekers] in grave risk upon return,” Kirkpatrick said. “They could be detained. They could be interrogated. They could be sent to prison. They could be tortured. As well as the risk to their family and acquaintances who remain in Iran.”
The lawsuit suggests that applications for both deportation relief and asylum were shared with the Iranian government during regular, monthly meetings between ICE and the Iranian Interest Section. These meetings reportedly stopped after the war began in February, but the sharing of documents has continued.
In a statement, the Trump administration told National Public Radio that these allegations are categorically false.
“ICE is committed to ensuring that illegal aliens are informed of their right to communicate with their consular representatives,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. “Consistent with established protocols, ICE provides illegal aliens the opportunity to contact their consular post and facilitates consular access to detained individuals, in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and agency policy.”
The lawsuit seeks a court order enjoining the Trump administration from continuing to collaborate with the Iranian government on deportations.
Kirkpatrick told NPR that, while it’s normal for countries to share information on asylum applications, it’s usually limited to information needed to facilitate the person’s return if their request is not approved. This includes details about travel arrangements and documents.
“What’s different here, though, is they are revealing information from the asylum applications, and that is a very specific category of information that is kept confidential,” he said. “They shouldn’t even real information from which one could infer that somebody sought asylum.”
Sources
Lawsuit Alleges Trump Administration Gave Iran Details on Asylum Seekers
New lawsuit alleges U.S. shared asylum application details with Iran
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