Lawsuit Says U.S. Shared Iranian Asylum Files With Tehran

A lawsuit filed in Washington on July 7 by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group, alleges U.S. agencies shared confidential immigration files of Iranian asylum seekers with Tehran and asks a federal court to stop the practice. The complaint says affected applicants include pro-democracy protesters, religious minorities and LGBTQ Iranians who fled persecution, and that disclosures risk persecution, torture or death if they are returned. The Department of Homeland Security denied sharing asylum application records, saying consular access follows law and policy. The case matters for Israel's Iran file because pressure on Tehran should protect dissidents and expose the regime, not hand sensitive refugee claims to the same rulers they fled.