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Emergency Appeal
Stop Deportation Flights of Iranians Into a War Zone
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The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund (IALDF) has launched an emergency appeal for financial support as Iranian nationals in U.S. ICE immigration detention face imminent deportation to Iran amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran war.
On Sunday, at least 10 Iranians were placed on a mass deportation removal flight in Mesa, Arizona, ultimately bound for Iran by way of Pakistan. Our work succeeded in postponing the flight, but the government has not abandoned its plans, and another removal flight is imminent.
The IALDF team is working around the clock to stop these deportations. Early this morning, members of our team flew to Arizona to visit the ICE facility where the Iranians slotted for deportation are being held. Shockingly, ICE wasn’t allowing them to call out for longer than 2 minutes.
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Every Iranian detained in the United States is entitled to due process — no exceptions. No person whose life is at risk in Iran on account of their religion, political beliefs, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other protected ground should be forcibly returned. That principle is not negotiable.
It is especially unconscionable—and dangerous—to deport anyone to Iran at a moment of active armed conflict between the United States and Iran, with threats of escalating hostilities growing by the day. Sending asylum seekers back to a war zone is not enforcement of the law. It is a death sentence.
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This work is urgent, and it depends on support from community members like you.
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“The government put Iranians, including asylum seekers, on a plane headed for a war zone. That flight was stopped, but these Iranians are still in detention and the next flight could come at any moment. Our staff are inside these facilities making sure no one is sent back without due process and a fair opportunity to be represented by counsel. We cannot do this alone. We are asking everyone who believes in the rule of law to support this work today.”
Yasmine Chubin, Executive Director, IALDF
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Check out this segment from MS NOW about our work stopping this past weekend’s mass deportation flight:
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Watch the MS NOW Segment
IALDF stops a mass deportation flight to Iran
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In Court: IALDF v. Rubio
Court records unsealed last week in our federal litigation IALDF v. Rubio show that the administration planned to deport Iranians to Iran through a third country. The court has ordered the government to give 24 hours’ notice of any finalized plan to deport Iranians, and five days’ written notice before carrying one out. IALDF has argued that the government may have violated that order.
In a court hearing, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes stated that sending people back to Iran now is akin to sending them to Nazi Germany during WWII:
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“We are talking about sending individuals in our care and custody to a country that we have bombed and we may continue bombing, and is a declared enemy of this country. It is like saying we have individuals in 1942 in this country that we are going to send back to Nazi Germany. That is the equivalent of what you are telling me.”
— U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes
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IALDF needs your support right now to end this cruelty, to halt all removals to Iran, to ensure that every person receives full due process, and to press for full compliance with the court’s orders. No one should be sent to a country the United States is at war with, and no one should be removed before they have had a full and fair opportunity to present their claims.
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Please donate to support IALDF’s emergency work in detention facilities, ongoing litigation to stop these flights, and protection for Iranian asylum seekers. Give today at ialdf.org/donate.
IALDF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit, EIN: 33-3887051, and all donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
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About IALDF
The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund provides legal protection and empowerment for all Iranians in America. Through advocacy, legal support, civil rights, education, and economic inclusion, IALDF works to ensure that every Iranian American can thrive, contribute, and shape a more just, inclusive, and prosperous future. Learn more at ialdf.org.
Contact: Emma Famili, news@ialdf.org
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