NPR
New lawsuit alleges US shared asylum application details with Iran
+573 words added -485 words removed
Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
Since then, 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.
Public Citizen Litigation Group is representing the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund in the suit.
"That information could put them in grave risk upon return," Kirkpatrick said. "They could be detained. They could be interrogated. They could be sent to prison. They could be tortured. These meetings, according to the filing, stopped after the U.S. attacked Iran in February, but the sharing of documents continued.
Kirkpatrick said attorneys at Public Citizen believe the administration is sharing this information based on testimony with detainees in immigration custody.
This testimony has not been independently reviewed by NPR.
Kirkpatrick said the organization is planning to request a preliminary injunction to freeze the information sharing temporarily and for those whose information has been shared to be personally notified.
The Iranian Mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.
Federal regulation related to asylum applications states that records kept by the Homeland Security Department and immigration courts should be protected from being disclosed and that the State Department must also work to ensure confidentiality of records is maintained if transmitted to State offices in other countries.
The lawsuit claims that information on hundreds of Iranian detainees seeking asylum, including information protected from disclosure, was shared. The disclosures allegedly include identifying information, familial relationships, political opinions, and the reasons they feared the Iranian government.
Immigration Christian refugees caught in the crosshairs of U.S. This includes travel arrangements and documents, like a passport.
"What's different here, though, is they are revealing information from the asylum applications, and that is a very specific category of information that is kept confidential," Kirkpatrick said.
The Trump administration has so far sent three deportation flights and over 100 people to Iran, according to Kirkpatrick. Others have been deported to so-called third countries like Panama and the Central African Republic.
Sponsor Message
Become an NPR sponsor
− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics New lawsuit alleges US shared asylum application details with Iran A lawsuit alleges the Trump administration is divulging details of Iranian asylum seekers to the government of Iran.
+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics New lawsuit alleges U.S.
− Immigration New lawsuit alleges US shared asylum application details with Iran July 7, 202610:04 AM ET Ximena Bustillo
Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares to testify during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on June 03, 2026.
+ shared asylum application details with Iran A lawsuit alleges the Trump administration is divulging details of Iranian asylum seekers to the government of Iran.
− Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America hide caption
A new lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C.
+ Immigration New lawsuit alleges U.S.
− alleges the Trump administration is divulging details of Iranian asylum seekers to the government of Iran.
+ shared asylum application details with Iran Updated July 7, 202612:54 PM ET Originally published July 7, 202610:04 AM ET Ximena Bustillo
Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares to testify during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on June 3. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption
A new lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., alleges that the Trump administration is divulging details of Iranian asylum seekers to the government of Iran.
− Lawyers with the left-leaning Public Citizen Litigation Group argue the administration began sharing information about the applications with Iran in March 2025.
+ Lawyers with the left-leaning Public Citizen Litigation Group argue that the administration began sharing information about the applications with Iran in March 2025.
− "The law is very clear that information within an asylum application or other applications for similar forms of protection cannot be shared particularly with the government that the individual is fleeing," said Michael Kirkpatrick, an attorney with Public Citizen, told NPR.
+ "The law is very clear that information within an asylum application or other applications for similar forms of protection cannot be shared, particularly with the government that the individual is fleeing," said Michael Kirkpatrick, an attorney with Public Citizen, told NPR.
− As well as the risk to their family and acquaintances who remain in Iran."
The lawsuit also alleges applications for deportation relief and asylum applications were provided during monthly meetings between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Iranian Interests Section, the body that handles consular duties in the U.S..
+ As well as the risk to their family and acquaintances who remain in Iran."
The lawsuit also alleges applications for deportation relief and asylum applications were provided during monthly meetings between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Iranian Interests Section, the body that handles consular duties in the U.S.
− The Trump administration increased the number of deportees back to Iran just before the war between the U.S.
+ In a statement provided to NPR, ICE said the allegations that ICE shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are false.
"ICE is committed to ensuring that illegal aliens are informed of their right to communicate with their consular representatives," an unnamed DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
− began.
+ "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 Trump administration increased the number of deportees back to Iran just before the war between the U.S.
+ and Iran began.
− The detainees say they have been called into meetings with senior officials from the Iran Interest Section and officials already know information within their asylum claims, according to the complaint.
+ The detainees say they have been called into meetings with senior officials from the Iranian Interests Section and officials already know information within their asylum claims, according to the complaint.
− The lawsuit is also based on confidential information from an Iranian government official confirming the data sharing policy.
+ The lawsuit is also based on confidential information from an Iranian government official confirming the data-sharing policy.
− The Homeland Security Department did not respond to an immediate request for comment, or questions about information sharing with the Iranian Special Interest Section.
+ The Homeland Security Department did not respond to an immediate request for comment, or questions about information sharing with the Iranian Interests Section.
− "The detainees contributed this information to their asylum application files in reliance on the confidentiality protections provided by federal regulations, with the understanding that the information would not be shared with the Iranian Government," the lawsuit states, and at times detainees met with Iranian Interest Section officials despite not consenting to do so.
+ "The detainees contributed this information to their asylum application files in reliance on the confidentiality protections provided by federal regulations, with the understanding that the information would not be shared with the Iranian Government," the lawsuit states, and at times detainees met with Iranian Interests Section officials despite not consenting to do so.
− immigration policy Some information sharing between governments about asylum applications is normal – but that has primarily been limited to details that facilitate the person's return.
+ immigration policy Some information sharing between governments about asylum applications is normal — but that has primarily been limited to details that facilitate the person's return.
− "They shouldn't even reveal information from which one could infer that somebody had sought asylum."
He said some of those identifying details could be information about participation in pro-democracy demonstrations, that they are a member of the LGBTQ community or that they have converted to Christianity; all which could put a person at risk of persecution in Iran.
+ "They shouldn't even reveal information from which one could infer that somebody had sought asylum."
He said some of those identifying details could be information about participation in pro-democracy demonstrations, that they are a member of the LGBTQ community or that they have converted to Christianity; all of which could put a person at risk of persecution in Iran.