Immigration and Customs Enforcement has maintained regular contact with Iranian officials to facilitate deportations, according to court documents filed in a legal challenge to the agency's practices.
In a sworn declaration, an attorney representing detainees stated that an Iranian government official reported receiving recurring packages of dossiers on Iranian detainees held by ICE. The submissions have been occurring over a period of months, the filing indicates.
The disclosure emerged as part of litigation over ICE's deportation procedures. The court papers suggest a systematic exchange of information between the federal immigration agency and Tehran, with officials there compiling data on individuals in U.S. custody.
Details about the scope of the information shared or the specific process governing the transfers were not elaborated in the available filings. The declaration provides no timeline for when these exchanges began or what criteria determine which detainees' records are included in the dossiers.
ICE maintains deportation partnerships with numerous countries, though relations with Iran have been particularly fraught due to broader geopolitical tensions between Washington and Tehran. How the agency navigates compliance with both removal statutes and diplomatic constraints in cases involving Iranian nationals has been a recurring source of legal disputes.
The court filing underscores growing scrutiny of ICE's international coordination practices and raises questions about what information the agency routinely transmits to foreign governments during deportation proceedings.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "This filing pulls back the curtain on a process most Americans have no idea is happening, and it raises legitimate concerns about what data is being handed over and why."
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