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Stop Trump From Endangering Iranian Asylum Seekers

Trump just escalated threats against Iran again. But that's not all he's doing to put the lives of Iranian families in jeopardy.

A new lawsuit says U.S. officials began sharing sensitive information about Iranian immigrants with Iranian officials last year, including information about people seeking asylum in the United States.

Once Trump started bombing Iran, the administration reportedly stopped sharing information. But by then, asylum seekers had already been exposed — and Trump’s government continued deporting Iranian immigrants anyway.

That is a betrayal of the very promise we make in offering asylum. Congress must restore that promise and protect the lives of Iranian asylum seekers now.

People seek asylum because going home could get them jailed, tortured, or killed. They tell the U.S. government deeply personal details — details that put them at risk — because the law promises those details will be protected. If that information is handed to the regime they fled, applying for asylum becomes a trap.

Trump cannot have it both ways. If Iran is dangerous enough to bomb, threaten, and condemn, then his administration has no business helping that same government identify dissidents, religious minorities, LGBTQ people, women’s rights activists, or anyone else who came here for protection.

It's time to put pressure on Congress to subpoena DHS, DOJ, and State Department records, hold emergency hearings, require every affected asylum seeker to be notified, and stop deportations to Iran before the U.S. sends them back into danger it helped create.

Thanks for all that you do,
Matt from the Swarm