ICE Arrests Seven Iranian Regime Elite Living Lavishly in U.S.
ICE arrested seven Iranian regime-connected individuals this week, including families of notorious figures, after State Department terminated their green cards over fraudulent asylum claims.
The family of Eissa Hashemi reported him missing to Los Angeles police April 11, unaware that ICE agents had already arrested him at his Agoura Hills home. Hours earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had terminated the green cards of Hashemi, his wife Maryam Tahmasebi, and their child. The arrest marked the third major family of Iranian regime elites rounded up this week.
Seven Iranian nationals with direct ties to Tehran's regime now face deportation in a coordinated crackdown. The operation reveals a stark double standard: these individuals obtained U.S. residency while openly celebrating attacks on American soldiers and living lavishly on American soil.
Among the most prominent cases are Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, 47, and her daughter Sarinasadat Hosseiny, 25, arrested April 3 at their Tujunga home. Afshar is the niece of slain IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, killed in a 2020 U.S. drone strike. Hosseiny is Soleimani's grandniece.
Both women entered the United States in 2015 — Afshar on a tourist visa, Hosseiny on a student visa. An immigration judge granted them asylum in 2019, and they received green cards in 2021 and 2023 respectively. DHS alleges their asylum claims were fraudulent.
Lauren Bis, acting Homeland Security assistant secretary, stated, "Her trips to Iran illustrate her asylum claims were fraudulent." Afshar made at least four trips to Iran after receiving her green card in 2021, behavior that directly contradicts asylum requirements claiming fear of persecution.
While living in Los Angeles, Afshar promoted Iranian regime propaganda and celebrated attacks against American soldiers, according to a State Department statement. She denounced America as the "Great Satan" and voiced support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terrorist organization. Meanwhile, she posted luxury lifestyle content on Instagram and purchased a $505,000 home in 2021 now valued at $740,000.
Eissa Hashemi represents a different connection to Iran's anti-American history. The 43-year-old is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar, known as "Screaming Mary," who served as English-language spokeswoman for militants who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in November 1979. The militants held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
Hashemi entered the United States in 2014 on a student visa and received his green card through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program in June 2016. He and his wife worked as adjunct professors at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles.
A third case involves Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of Ali Larijani, who served as Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council until his death in a March 2026 airstrike. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Larijani in January 2026 for coordinating violent responses to protests. Ardeshir-Larijani worked as an assistant professor at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute until public outrage forced her removal earlier this year. She and her husband left the United States after visa termination.
Rubio is wielding rarely used State Department authority to revoke green cards obtained through fraudulent asylum claims and familial connections to sanctioned officials. The secretary stated, "America can never become home for anti-American terrorists or their families — and under the Trump Administration, it never will."
The crackdown extends far beyond these seven cases. Katie Miller appeared on Fox News April 11 stating that President Trump and Rubio are "working diligently to revoke the visas of nearly 3,000 to 4,000 Iranian elites who currently live in this country." Miller noted the "double standard" of Iranian elites enjoying safety in the United States while denouncing America.
The operation follows years of public pressure. Iranian-American activist Sheila Nazarian described the hypocrisy as infuriating. "These women are posting in bikinis, on yachts, they are wearing v-neck dresses down to their bellybuttons," Nazarian told Fox News. "All on the blood money — money that was embezzled, stolen from the Iranian people."
Change.org petitions called for Hashemi's deportation, arguing he never publicly distanced himself from his mother's legacy. The State Department described Ebtekar as crafting propaganda showing "humane treatment" while hostages were "held in solitary confinement, blindfolded and starved, and subjected to physical and psychological terror."
A DHS spokesperson emphasized the privilege of U.S. residency. "It is a privilege to be granted a green card to live in the United States of America," the spokesperson stated. "If we have reason to believe a green card holder poses a threat to the U.S., the green card will be revoked."
Afshar currently resides at an ICE detention facility in Pearsall, Texas. Her daughter's location remains unclear. The Hashemi family remains in ICE custody pending deportation procedures.
For years, these individuals exploited U.S. immigration loopholes while maintaining loyalty to a government that sponsors terrorism and holds Americans hostage, both literally and figuratively.
Now the Trump administration is closing those loopholes, sending a clear message that America will no longer harbor those who seek its destruction while enjoying its protections.