Iranian Rights Group Accuses US of Sharing Refugee Data with Tehran Under Secret Deal

An Iranian human rights organization has filed a lawsuit in a US court alleging that the Trump administration secretly provided Tehran with confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers in the United States. The lawsuit claims that since March 2025, a covert agreement between the US and Iran enabled the transfer of sensitive immigration documents, including deportation orders and asylum requests, exposing hundreds of Iranian refugees to risks of persecution, torture, and death upon return to Iran.

Many of these asylum seekers are pro-democracy protesters, religious minorities, or members of the LGBTQ community, groups particularly vulnerable under the Iranian regime. The lawsuit highlights that the US government deported dozens of Iranians over the past year, including during the brutal crackdown on protests in Iran in January 2026. It also alleges that the US is currently coordinating with Iran to organize another mass deportation flight in the coming weeks.

US authorities have denied the allegations, calling them "false," but confirmed that immigration officials cooperate with foreign governments and will continue to use all legal means to deport undocumented immigrants. The case raises significant concerns about the safety and rights of Iranian asylum seekers amid ongoing political repression in Iran and aggressive US immigration enforcement policies under the Trump administration.