Lawsuit alleges Trump administration shared confidential asylum seeker information with Iranian government

A lawsuit filed on July 7, 2026, by Public Citizen and the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund alleges the Trump administration illegally shared confidential asylum application details of detained Iranians with the Iranian government. The complaint, naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, claims this sharing began in March 2025 and continued despite the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war in February 2026. The Department of Homeland Security strongly denies the allegations, calling them false.

Asylum information sharing allegations

• ▪The shared information allegedly includes identifying details, familial relationships, political opinions, and specific reasons why the applicants feared the Iranian government
• ▪A lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., on July 7, 2026, alleges that the Trump administration has been sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government
• ▪The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. government began sharing sensitive immigration files of detained Iranians with Iran in March 2025, continuing even after the U.S.-Iran war began in February 2026

Legal confidentiality protections

• ▪The lawsuit argues that disclosing confidential asylum details violates federal regulations and puts deportees at risk of persecution, torture, and death upon return to Iran
• ▪Federal regulations established in the late 1990s prohibit the U.S. government from disclosing information that could reveal or infer that an individual has applied for asylum

Public Citizen lawsuit

• ▪The Public Citizen Litigation Group and the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
• ▪The lawsuit names the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin as defendants
• ▪The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the information sharing and are requesting the appointment of an independent monitor or special master

ICE response statement

• ▪The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied the allegations, stating that claims of sharing asylum application records with Iran are false
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilitates consular access and works to obtain travel documents in accordance with applicable laws and agency policy

Iranian deportation flights

• ▪The Trump administration has deported more than 100 people to Iran across three recorded deportation flights operating between September 2025 and January 2026
• ▪In June 2026, the U.S. deported an Iranian woman among two dozen migrants sent to the Central African Republic, representing a departure from historical practices