Lawsuit alleges US shared asylum seekers' data with Iran

A lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, accuses the Trump administration of illegally sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government, a policy the plaintiffs allege began in March 2025 and continued despite the outbreak of open conflict between the two nations.

The complaint, filed by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund and represented by attorneys from Public Citizen, alleges that U.S. immigration agencies systematically disclosed sensitive details from asylum applications to Iranian officials. The information allegedly included the identities of applicants, their political activities-such as participation in Iran's 2022 "Women, Life, Freedom" protests-religious conversions to Christianity, sexual orientation, and other reasons for fearing persecution. The lawsuit names the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin as defendants.

According to the filing, the policy involved monthly meetings between U.S. officials and representatives from the Iranian Interest Section, which operates out of the Embassy of Pakistan in...