The Trump administration has made it a top priority to remove anyone residing in the United States illegally or fraudulently, especially those connected to the Iranian regime, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan on Wednesday.
The comments came after the administration deported Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, 47, and Sarinasadat Hosseiny, 25 — the niece and grandniece of late Iranian terrorist general Qasem Soleimani. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the women were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week.
What the Left Is Saying
Immigrant rights advocates and progressive lawmakers have raised concerns about the administration's aggressive deportation strategy targeting individuals based on their family connections to foreign governments. Critics argue that focusing deportations on people based on familial relationships rather than individual criminal conduct raises due process issues.
Democratic lawmakers have also questioned whether the administration is prioritizing immigration enforcement in a way that diverts resources from more pressing national security concerns. Some progressive advocacy groups have called for clearer guidelines on when family connections to foreign officials should trigger deportation proceedings.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative supporters of the administration say removing individuals with ties to adversarial foreign regimes is a necessary component of national security. They argue that anyone who entered the United States through fraudulent asylum claims should be deported regardless of their family connections.
Republican lawmakers have praised the administration's focus on removing what they describe as potential Iranian regime affiliates. The White House has framed the deportations as part of a broader effort to prevent hostile foreign governments from maintaining influence operations within the United States.
What the Numbers Show
According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and Sarinasadat Hosseiny were deported after their visas were revoked and ICE determined they had fraudulent asylum claims. The women are relatives of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed in a 2020 U.S. drone strike.
In September of last year, the Trump administration deported at least 55 Iranians back to their home country. Reports indicated that as many as 400 Iranians in America were expected to be sent back to Iran last year.
The administration has also identified Eissa Hashemi, 43, the son of former Iranian Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar, as living in the United States. Hashemi works as an adjunct associate professor at The Chicago School in Los Angeles.
The Bottom Line
The administration has confirmed it is continuing to prioritize the removal of individuals with connections to the Iranian regime, particularly those who entered the United States through fraudulent claims. The deportation of Soleimani's family members signals continued enforcement against what the White House describes as national security threats.
The State Department has indicated that this remains a top priority for the department working in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. The administration has not indicated whether additional family members of Iranian officials will be targeted for deportation in the coming weeks.