Lawsuit alleges U.S. shared asylum seekers' details with Iran, putting detainees at risk

According to the lawsuit, attorneys at Public Citizen believe the data transfers began in March 2025, based on testimony from detainees in immigration custody. The suit says applications for deportation relief and asylum were handed over during monthly meetings between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Iranian Interests Section, the body that handles Iranian consular duties in the U.S.

Detainees have reported being called into meetings with senior Iranian Interests Section officials even when they did not consent to such contact. The Iranian officials already appeared to know details drawn from within the asylum claims themselves, the complaint alleges, suggesting records had been transmitted before the meetings took place.

What the lawsuit says was shared

The lawsuit claims that information from hundreds of Iranian detainees seeking asylum was shared, including identifying details, familial relationships, political opinions and the specific reasons the migrants feared the Iranian government. According to Public Citizen attorney Michael Kirkpatrick, some of the identifying details disclosed could include participation in pro-democracy demonstrations, membership in the LGBTQ community, or conversion to Christianity, information that could put a person at risk of persecution in Iran.

U.S. government officials have "periodically mailed or hand delivered immigration files of Iranians" in immigration custody to the Iranian government, according to the complaint. Federal regulations require that records held by the Homeland Security Department and immigration courts be protected from disclosure, and the State Department must work to ensure that confidentiality is preserved when records are transmitted to State offices abroad.

ICE response

ICE pushed back on the claims, stating that the allegations that ICE shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are false. An unnamed DHS 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 Homeland Security Department and the Iranian Mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment. The complaint is also based on confidential information from an Iranian government official said to have confirmed the data-sharing arrangement.

Some information sharing between governments about asylum applications is normal and has historically been limited to details that facilitate a person's return, such as travel arrangements and passports. The lawsuit argues that the scope of the alleged disclosures goes well beyond that limited purpose and into protected categories of information.

Deportations and the broader context

The Trump administration has sent three deportation flights and over 100 people to Iran, according to attorney Michael Kirkpatrick, and increased the number of deportees sent back to Iran just before the war between the U.S. and Iran began. The U.S. attacked Iran in February, and the monthly ICE–Iranian Interests Section meetings stopped after that attack, though the complaint alleges the sharing of documents continued.

The suit alleges State Department officials met Iranian counterparts in Washington in March 2025 to state that the U.S. wanted to deport Iranians, including those held in ICE detention. Some deportees have been sent to third countries such as Panama and the Central African Republic.

Next steps in court

The lawsuit also references a letter from a dozen U.S. senators sent in February 2025 to Secretary of State Marco Rubio raising concerns about sending detainees to a country where they could face persecution or torture. The filing frames the alleged disclosures as putting asylum seekers at risk of deportation to a country where they could be subjected to persecution, torture or death.

If the court grants the requested injunction, the lawsuit could force a halt to the document transfers and require individual notice to every Iranian detainee whose information has been shared. Hearings on the preliminary injunction have not yet been scheduled.

"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 unnamed DHS spokesperson said in a statement.