In mid-October, an individual identified as Majid, who had spent a year in US immigration detention, was informed of his relocation from a Texas facility. Majid, who had been granted protection from removal by an immigration judge five months prior, was transported to a military airfield in Louisiana while shackled. He had fled Iran for the US in October of a prior year, citing repeated detentions and alleged torture, initially for participation in Mahsa Amini protests and subsequently for converting to Christianity.
Upon being compelled to board a flight carrying over 150 individuals destined for Managua, Nicaragua, Majid reported being the sole non-Latin American passenger. After landing, he stated he was handcuffed, denied an asylum request, and directed onto an itinerary via Venezuela and Turkey toward Iran. Majid subsequently went into hiding in Istanbul to avoid a return to Iran. He is one of several Iranian Christian converts who have reported rejection of their asylum claims by US authorities in the past year, with many speaking anonymously due to fears for relatives in Iran. These accounts suggest potential inconsistencies in US assessments of risks faced by Iranian returnees and in the management of sensitive religious information within asylum files.
A White House official stated that all deported individuals had their asylum claims fully adjudicated prior to removal. The official further noted that recent deportations to Iran involved individuals with final removal orders or those who had requested voluntary departure. Confidentiality rules prevent officials from disclosing specific asylum application details.
Deportation Flights and Information Handling Concerns
In late September, US authorities arranged a chartered flight to Iran via Qatar, marking the first such operation in decades given the absence of diplomatic relations and Iran's human rights record. This flight, reportedly carrying dozens of Iranians in shackles, represented an instance of cooperation between Iran and the US. One deportee, identified as Sina, described armed guards escorting passengers on the Qatar–Tehran leg. Upon arrival in Iran, passengers were questioned about their time in the US and religious activities but were not immediately arrested, according to a video posted on a Farsi-language YouTube channel.
Among the passengers was the wife of an Iranian Christian convert living in the US, identified as Ali. She has since been contacted by Iranian intelligence. Ali stated that his wife was deported despite her Christian conversion, and that Iranian intelligence is now pursuing both of them.
Lawyer Ali Herischi, representing Ali's wife and other deportees from the September flight, stated that several clients reported sensitive information – including details about religious conversion, political activity, and reasons for seeking asylum – was not redacted from their files before deportation.
Risks for Christian Converts in Iran
Steve Dew-Jones of Article 18, a UK-based advocacy group monitoring violations against Christians in Iran, indicates that converts from Islam constitute a notable portion of Iran's estimated 800,000 Christian population. He reports that officially recognized churches operate under tight restrictions, leading to the emergence of house churches. Converts from Islam face persecution, with conversion treated as apostasy, potentially resulting in arrest, interrogation, and prison sentences. The Center for Human Rights in Iran reported a sixfold increase in arrests between 2023 and 2024.
Dew-Jones added that authorities have increasingly used the term 'Zionist Christianity,' particularly following recent Iran–Israel clashes, framing religious practice as a national-security threat. While some Iranians cite conversion in asylum claims, Iranian officials assert that conversions may be exaggerated or fabricated. Dew-Jones noted the difficulty in assessing the sincerity of faith but observed instances where legitimate converts' testimonies and church records were reportedly not adequately considered by asylum courts.
Asylum Case Discrepancies
Iranian asylum seekers and legal experts report divergent asylum outcomes even within the same household. In late June, ICE officers detained Marjan and Reza, both Christian converts from Iran who had applied for asylum in the US, at their Los Angeles residence. Video footage by their pastor depicted Marjan collapsed outside during her husband's detention. The couple was transported to separate detention centers. Weeks later, Marjan was granted asylum in California, while Reza, detained in New Mexico, was ordered to be removed to a third country. The Department of Homeland Security stated on its X account that during a targeted enforcement operation in Los Angeles, Border Patrol agents apprehended two Iranian nationals unlawfully present in the US, both flagged as subjects of national security interest.