Israel’s June war on Iran, which the U.S. briefly and illegally joined, has triggered a surge in aggressive ICE enforcement against Iranian nationals here in the U.S., upending peoples’ lives and spreading significant fear in the community. This racial profiling is both wrong and unconstitutional, and should trigger significant outcry from policymakers.
ICE touted that it had arrested 130 Iranian nationals in the days after U.S. strikes, and maintained 670 Iranian nationals in custody as of June 26, 2025. ICE portrayed 11 of those arrested in the most alarming terms possible, but most of those arrested appear to have been living very normal lives. This includes grandfathers and grandmothers, Christian convert asylum seekers terrified by the notion of going back to Iran and students simply pursuing their studies at U.S. institutions.Sources indicate that more than 5,000 Iranian nationals are on ICE’s non-detained docket, and with ICE receiving a major surge in funding, it is highly likely that arrests in the Iranian community in the U.S. will continue to surge.
One of the impacted individuals whose story gained traction was 64 year-old Donna Kashanian, who was detained by masked ICE agents in June as she was gardening outside her home. Donna, who had been living in the United States for 47 years and was married to an American citizen with whom she shares a daughter, presented no apparent national security threat. Yet, after being ripped apart from her family without warning, she was thankfully released on July 9 following an outcry from her Louisiana community and intervention on the case from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. This shows two things: first, that there never was a real security threat from Kashanian to begin with, and that outcry from lawmakers and the public can make a difference.
As far as we are aware, there is no active security threat from Iran or Iran-linked actors toward the United States. Iranian officials have been eager to dial down tensions with the United States in recent weeks, only engaging in limited and telegraphed strikes on an evacuated U.S. base in Qatar before pivoting to a ceasefire and considering restarting nuclear negotiations.
The notion that Iran maintains “terror cells” in the United States is unsubstantiated speculation that was spread by fringe voices early in the war and then – likely recklessly – repeated by more mainstream figures. It assumes both capability and intent from Iran, neither of which are apparent. Similar reckless rhetoric has underpinned other discriminatory and shameful targeting of minorities during wartime, including the demonization of individuals of Japanese heritage during World War II, leading to 120,000 being forced into internment camps throughout the duration of the war – two-thirds of whom were civilians.
While some level of vigilance is warranted and understandable, ICE’s arrests appear entirely disconnected from any security threat and solely based on discrimination. The only through-thread is that they all target Iranian nationals who have some level of uncertain status in the United States.
In a letter sent to DHS on July 11, Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) and Dave Min (D-CA) raised these very concerns, underscoring the grave risks Iranian asylum seekers in particular face if sent back to Iran and seeking answers. Additional pressure is needed to fully understand the scope of the problem and push back on unjust enforcement actions that aren’t based in any legitimate security threat, but instead in bias.
Of course, the Iranian community is not the only community being targeted by an increasingly unchecked ICE, which is spreading fear and uncertainty across all immigrant communities in the United States and undermining core American values and legal processes. We urge all lawmakers to condemn the racial profiling of the Iranian community that has triggered these arrests, ask for details on cases that do not appear connected to any plot or wrongdoing and to enact specific guardrails to bring ICE back into some semblance of lawfulness. These include:
- Protecting Sensitive Locations Act – Introduced by Reps. Garcia (D-IL), Espaillat (D-NY), Blumenthal (D-CT) – which restores prohibitions on ICE raids at sensitive locations serving community needs, including churches, schools and hospitals.
- No Secret Police Act – Introduced by Reps. Espaillat (D-NY) and Goldman (D-NY) – which would prevent ICE agents from wearing masks and require that they display clear identification when arresting and detaining individuals.
- Neighbors Not Enemies Act – Introduced by Rep. Omar (D-MN) – which fully repeals the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 that has allowed Presidents to deport nationals of countries the U.S. is at war with.
- Working to reverse recent funding surges to ICE that were enacted via President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
- Supporting your constituents impacted by these raids, including quickly responding to complaints, making inquiries on their behalf and privately and publicly advocating for releases.