Iranian academic writes of US detention 'hell' over link to 1979 hostage crisis
The immigration status of Maryam Tahmasebi was revoked because her husband is the son of a prominent figure in Iran.
Maryam Tahmasebi, a psychology professor in Los Angeles and her husband Seyed Eissa Hashemi, along with their teenage son, were detained by U.S. immigration agents in April. The U.S. government revoked their green cards due to Hashemi's maternal connection to a prominent figure from the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The State Department cited this relation as the reason for the family's status revocation.
Tahmasebi and her son are currently held in a detention center in Texas, while Hashemi endures harsh conditions in a separate facility in South Texas. In The Nation magazine, Tahmasebi detailed their "hellish" four-month ordeal, expressing concerns about their deteriorated physical and mental health. Hashemi's mother, Masoumeh Ebtekar, was a spokesperson for the group that held U.S. embassy staff hostage for 444 days during the 1979 crisis and later held several government roles.
The family entered the U.S. legally in 2014 and became permanent residents in 2016. Despite their legal status, the U.S. government revoked their green cards amid enforcement actions targeting relatives of Iranian officials. The family had attempted voluntary departure, but the U.S. government rejected their request. Both the State Department and DHS declined to provide evidence supporting their allegations, insisting that the family posed no threat to U.S. national security.
Written by urgent.news from BBC World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
