Rubio Revokes Green Cards of Soleimani's Niece and Grandniece; ICE Arrests Both in Los Angeles

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that the United States had revoked the legal permanent residency of Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, the niece of slain Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, and her adult daughter, who were subsequently arrested in Los Angeles by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and placed in deportation proceedings.

Soleimani Afshar entered the United States on a tourist visa in June 2015, was granted asylum in 2019, and became a lawful permanent resident in 2021. The Department of Homeland Security said the 2019 asylum claim was "fraudulent," citing evidence that she made at least four documented trips to Iran — a country she had claimed to fear — after receiving her green card. The State Department also cited social media posts in which she allegedly promoted Iranian regime propaganda and celebrated attacks on American military personnel.

"It is a privilege to be granted a green card to live in the United States of America," a DHS spokesperson said Saturday. "If we have reason to believe a green card holder poses a threat to the U.S., the green card will be revoked." The State Department issued a separate statement saying it will not allow the country "to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes."

Qasem Soleimani was the commander of the IRGC's Quds Force and one of the most powerful military figures in Iran before he was killed in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport in January 2020, ordered by President Trump during his first term. His death was a watershed moment in U.S.-Iran relations and has been cited repeatedly by the Trump administration as justification for the current military campaign.

In addition to the Soleimani family members, Rubio also announced the revocation of legal status for Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of former senior Iranian official Ali Larijani, who was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike earlier in the current conflict. Ardeshir-Larijani and her husband are believed to be outside the United States and have been barred from reentry. Soleimani Afshar's husband has also been barred from entering the United States under the same national security authority, though he was not present in the country.

The two women arrested in Los Angeles are being held in an ICE detention facility pending immigration court proceedings. Their attorneys have filed emergency motions in federal court arguing that the Secretary of State's authority to revoke legal permanent residency without an immigration judge's order violates due process protections under the Fifth Amendment.

Civil liberties organizations condemned the move. The American Civil Liberties Union called the action "a politically motivated deportation" and announced its intention to seek emergency relief. "These are people who have lived in the United States legally for years," said an ACLU attorney. "Stripping their status and arresting them without a hearing before an immigration judge is an abuse of executive power."

The arrests come amid an intensifying domestic immigration enforcement push that critics say has increasingly targeted individuals with perceived connections to countries involved in the Iran war. The State Department confirmed it is reviewing the legal status of dozens of other Iranian nationals living in the United States who may have ties to regime officials, including family members of IRGC commanders. Human rights groups warned the effort risks punishing people for the actions of relatives over whom they have no control.