On the Record

A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee is now demanding records and answers on IALDF v. Rubio — carrying the case for Iranian asylum seekers from the courtroom into the halls of Congress.

Blumenthal takes
up the fight.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is demanding that the Trump administration answer for the alleged sharing of Iranian asylum seekers' confidential files with the regime they fled — pressing cabinet secretaries in writing, and the Attorney General nominee under oath.

Blumenthal demands answers.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin for records and information on whether the administration shared details from asylum applications with Iranian officials.

His letter cites the lawsuit's allegations: a March 2025 meeting with the Iranian Interest Section, a list of 150 names handed over, and ongoing monthly meetings at which ICE officials allegedly divulged asylum files — including the political opinions and religious beliefs that would make applicants targets of persecution.

At this week's hearing on AG nominee Todd Blanche, Blumenthal pressed him on the allegations. Blanche said the government "would never send somebody home to be tortured," and agreed that "if the lawsuit needs to be answered and part of that includes investigation, absolutely."

Under oath, on the record.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal put the question directly to Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche: will you commit to investigating the policy alleged in IALDF's case? The exchange carried the lawsuit's central claim into the confirmation record — and onto millions of screens.

Lawsuit Alleges Trump Administration Gave Iran Details on Asylum Seekers

The Times' account put the filing's most explosive allegations before a national readership — the confidential records, the transfers, and the months of continued disclosures the complaint describes.

Mr. Mehri also stated that the Iranian official continued receiving regular dossiers on Iranian detainees from Immigration and Customs Enforcement for months, even after Mr. Trump directed the bombing of the country's nuclear facilities in June 2025. As of March, Mr. Mehri said he was told by the official that ICE continued to hold 400 to 500 Iranian asylum seekers in detention. The official said he had received information from the U.S. government about at least 300 of those people, Mr. Mehri said.

As IALDF moved for an injunction, the coverage kept coming.

Fighting for people who trusted this country.

Every asylum seeker is told, in the government's own words, that what they disclose is confidential — that under federal regulation it cannot be shared without their written consent. On the strength of that promise, people reveal the most vulnerable details of their lives: the names of their persecutors, the addresses of their families, the reasons they fled.

IALDF exists to hold the government to its own laws. We will keep fighting until every affected person is notified, the policy is struck down, and no asylum seeker is ever again punished for trusting the promises of the United States.

Stand with Iranian asylum seekers.

This fight — in court and beyond — depends on your support. IALDF is a civil rights legal defense nonprofit organization.

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