IALDF Applauds Twelve U.S. Senators For Their Open Letter to Secretary Rubio Calling for the End of Mass Deportations of Iranian Asylum Seekers

IRANIAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE FUND

A dozen U.S. Senators sent an open letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for an immediate halt to deportation flights returning Iranian asylum seekers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Since September 2025, three deportation flights have returned more than 120 Iranian nationals back to a regime that has massacred over 30,000 of its own citizens just in the past few weeks for protesting. Among those deported were members of religious minorities, including Christian converts, participants in the Women, Life, Freedom protest movement, and members of the LGBTQ+ community—individuals who face a well-founded risk of persecution, torture, and even execution if returned to Iran.  

Returning individuals to a country where they face a well-founded fear of persecution—known under international law as refoulement—violates U.S. statutory protections and binding international obligations, including the Convention Against Torture. We have received reports that an additional deportation flight may be scheduled for February 20, 2026.

We are deeply grateful to U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for responding to our concerns and co-leading this effort.

“Iran’s violations of human rights are extensive, well-documented, and horrifying. Basic rights, like those of the freedom of expression, religion, and assembly are not only infringed upon – they are violently suppressed through torture, imprisonment, forced disappearances, and executions,” the Senators wrote.. 

On January 25, 2026, a third deportation flight returned fourteen Iranians to the Islamic Republic days after the regime massacred and arrested tens of thousands of protesters, a scale of violence against peaceful protesters far exceeding the atrocities committed in Tiananmen Square by the Chinese government in 1989. The IALDF has condemned these mass executions and arrests of Iranian protesters.

We are also troubled by reports that officials from the Iranian Interests Section were permitted to meet with Iranian asylum seekers in ICE custody. Allowing representatives of a murderous government from which asylum seekers are fleeing to access them raises serious concerns regarding coercion, intimidation, and the integrity of asylum protections under U.S. law.

The letter to Secretary Rubio is signed by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Angela D. Alsobrooks (D-MD), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), and Alex Padilla (D-CA).

The Senators concluded their letter by stating “Now we ask you and the Trump administration to ensure that the United States does not violate U.S. and international law by returning people who have a well-founded fear of persecution and torture by the brutal Iranian regime.”

Iranian American Legal Defense Fund Board Member, Cyrus Mehri stated

“The United States is turning over asylum seekers to the Islamic Regime on a silver platter, putting these freedom seeking individuals at near certain risk of torture and imprisonment.”

He added: “We urge the Administration to immediately suspend these deportations and ensure that asylum seekers from Iran receive fulsome due process as they rightfully seek refuge in America.”

IALDF thanks each of these 12 U.S. Senators and calls on all U.S. Senators and Members of Congress to make similar efforts to stop the U.S. Government from working hand-in-hand with the Islamic Regime in violation of human rights principles.  

IALDF will continue to monitor this situation closely and pursue all available avenues to protect asylum seekers at risk.

The full letter from the 12 U.S. Senators sent to Secretary Rubio can be found here.

Iranian American Legal Defense Fund (IALDF)

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