The family of an Iranian scientist is being held in the U.S. after their resident status was revoked
In Texas, Iranian scientist Maryam Tahmasebi, her husband Seyyed Issa Hashemi, and their teenage son have been held in custody for several months. The U.S. had previously revoked the family’s legal permanent resident status, and the State Department linked this decision to Hashemi’s ties to his mother, Masoumeh Ebtekar, according to BBC News World.
Tahmasebi, a professor of psychology and statistics from Los Angeles, her husband, and her son were detained by immigration agents in April. Tahmasebi and her son are being held at a detention center in Dille, Texas, while Hashemi is being held at another facility, the South Texas Detention Facility in Pearsall.
In an article for The Nation magazine, Tahmasebi stated that during their four months in detention, the physical and mental health of her family members has significantly deteriorated. She called the actions of the U.S. authorities “punishment for origin” and claimed that her husband is being punished for his mother’s activities, which took place before he was even born.
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Masoumeh Ebtekar was the English-speaking spokesperson for the students who seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. She subsequently held a number of positions in the Iranian government; her most recent role was Vice President for Women and Family Affairs. She has not held any government positions since 2021.
Tahmasebi and Hashemi legally entered the United States on visas in 2014 and became lawful permanent residents in 2016. A federal judge temporarily blocked the family’s deportation after their attorneys challenged the detention and filed a motion for release.
According to Takhmasebi, the family requested permission to voluntarily leave the United States, but the Department of Homeland Security rejected that request in July. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott stated that the department does not disclose protected, confidential, or classified information regarding the termination of legal status for foreign nationals. He added that the government may revoke such status for individuals it considers a threat to U.S. national security interests. The family’s attorney, Maria Kari, told the BBC that no charges had been brought against the family under provisions of immigration law related to national security.
