Lawsuit Alleges Trump Administration Shared Iranian Asylum Application Details With Iran

A lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. alleges the Trump administration provided Iran with confidential information detailing asylum applications for Iranians it planned to deport.

“Lawsuit says US illegally shared confidential information on Iranian asylum seekers with Iran LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that the Trump administration’s immigration agencies have been sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government, violating national immigration regulations and endangering countless Iranians, court filings argue”

AP News

The complaint names Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) David Venturella as defendants, and it says the disclosures put asylum seekers at risk of “persecution, torture, and death following their arrival in Iran.”

AP News

Public Citizen attorney Michael Kirkpatrick said the case is “potentially a matter of life and death” for Iranian asylum seekers who end up deported back to Iran.

The Department of Homeland Security denied the allegation, with a DHS spokesperson telling CNN that “These allegations that ICE shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are FALSE.”

The lawsuit alleges that beginning in March 2025, State Department officials met with representatives of the Iranian Interests Section in Washington and that the discussion encompassed the administration’s desire to deport Iranians, with officials handing over a list of roughly 150 names.

NBC News reported that the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund accused the federal government of reaching an agreement with Iranian officials last year to periodically “share the immigration files and information of Iranians” in ICE custody.

CNN

The complaint also alleges that U.S. officials “periodically mailed or hand delivered” immigration records that included sensitive information about detainees such as final orders of removal, applications for relief and asylum applications.

DHS, in a statement to NBC News, denied the allegation and said ICE “meets and works to get travel documents for detainees with every country.”

The plaintiffs are asking the court to halt the alleged information-sharing and to require notification of asylum seekers whose personal information was shared with the Iranian government without their consent.

“Bombshell Lawsuit Claims Trump White House Sharing ‘Confidential’ Info About Iranian Asylum-Seekers With Regime A startling new lawsuit charges the Trump administration with sharing the “confidential” information about Iranian asylum-seekers with the Iranian government”

Mediaite

The lawsuit seeks an order allowing affected Iranian detainees to have their immigration cases reopened to determine whether they’re entitled to asylum or other relief, and Public Citizen said it is compiling sworn written declarations for a motion requesting a preliminary injunction.

NPR reported that the lawsuit alleges the sharing continued even after the U.S. attacked Iran in February, while ICE said the allegations that ICE shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are false.

Michael Kirkpatrick told NPR that “The law is very clear that information within an asylum application or other applications for similar forms of protection cannot be shared,” and he said the information could put people “in grave risk upon return.”