A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses the Trump administration of illegally sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government, alleging the disclosures violated federal immigration protections and endangered people who fled persecution.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, alleges that immigration agencies disclosed sensitive information from asylum applications to Iranian officials during efforts to deport Iranian nationals. The plaintiffs are seeking a court order to halt the alleged information-sharing and appoint an independent monitor to oversee compliance with federal confidentiality rules.

The lawsuit names the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin as defendants.

“Disclosing their confidential information to the Iranian Government violates the asylum seekers’ confidentiality rights, endangers their family members and acquaintances who may still be residing in Iran, and puts those who are subject to removal to Iran, directly or through chain refoulement via third countries, at risk of persecution, torture, and death following their arrival in Iran,” IALDF said in the 13-page lawsuit.

Federal regulations prohibit the U.S. government from revealing information that could identify an individual as an asylum applicant because doing so could expose them to retaliation or persecution if they are returned to their home country. While U.S. officials may coordinate with foreign governments on deportation logistics, the lawsuit argues the administration exceeded those limits by sharing protected asylum information.

“Congress made these confidentiality protections mandatory precisely because lives depend on them,” Ali Rahnama, interim executive director of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that beginning in March 2025, the State Department arranged monthly meetings with Iranian officials through the Pakistani Embassy, where U.S. officials provided detailed information about detained Iranian immigrants the government sought to deport. The lawsuit says the information included allegations of persecution based on religious conversion, sexual orientation and participation in Iran’s 2022 Women, Life, Freedom protests.

The complaint further alleges that Iranian asylum seekers held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities were forced to meet with Iranian government representatives who appeared to have detailed knowledge of their asylum claims. The plaintiffs say those disclosures continued even after the United States and Iran entered into open conflict earlier this year.

DHS denied the allegations.

In a statement, DHS said ICE facilitates consular access for detainees in accordance with applicable laws and policies while obtaining travel documents for deportations. The agency added that claims it shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are “FALSE.” 

The legal challenge comes amid the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown and follows a series of deportation flights that returned Iranian nationals to Iran beginning in late 2025. Advocacy groups say the administration’s alleged disclosures represent a sharp break from decades of U.S. policy aimed at protecting Iranian dissidents and others seeking refuge from the country’s government.

“The law is clear. State Department and DHS regulations prohibit ICE officials from revealing information from asylum applications to foreign governments. But that is exactly what they are doing,” said Michael Kirkpatrick, an attorney at Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “Despite the U.S.’s ongoing war with Iran, the administration seems more committed to mass deportation than protecting human lives.”

Camille Ray and Fallon Gallagher contributed to this report.

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