In mid-October, after spending a year in immigration detention in the United States, Majid* was abruptly taken from his cell in Texas by officers who arrived without warning. Despite an immigration judge granting him protection from removal five months prior, Majid was shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles, and driven overnight to a military airfield in Louisiana. There, he was forced onto a plane carrying over 150 deportees bound for Managua, Nicaragua. Majid, an Iranian Christian convert who fled Iran in October 2024, was the only non–Latin American on the flight. Hours later, after landing, he was handcuffed, denied his request for asylum, and redirected through Venezuela and Turkey with the apparent purpose of being forcibly returned to Iran.
Majid’s story is emblematic of a troubling pattern faced by many Iranian asylum seekers in the US, especially those who have converted from Islam to Christianity. His flight from Iran was prompted by repeated detentions and alleged torture related to his participation in the Mahsa Amini protests and later his religious conversion. In Turkey, he managed to go into hiding, fearful of the consequences if returned to Iran, where converts like him face severe persecution.
Several Iranian Christian converts who spoke anonymously to the BBC, out of concern for their families still in Iran, revealed similar experiences of rejected asylum claims and inconsistent treatment by US immigration authorities. Their stories expose gaps in how US officials assess the risks facing Iranian deportees and how sensitive religious information in asylum applications is managed. The handling of such cases stands in stark contrast to other elements of US foreign policy, particularly President Trump’s vocal support for persecuted Christians abroad. For instance, he has threatened military action in Nigeria over Christian killings, yet the plight of Iranian Christian converts seeking refuge in the US seems less prioritized.
A White House official told the BBC that all individuals deported had their asylum claims fully adjudicated before removal. They emphasized that recent deportations to Iran involved people with final orders of removal or those who had requested voluntary departure. However, the official cited strict confidentiality rules preventing disclosure of whether someone applied for asylum and was denied. This lack of transparency leaves many questions unanswered about the fairness and thoroughness of the decisions.
The US has intensified its crackdown on illegal immigration, leading to significant policy shifts regarding Iranian asylum seekers. In late September, US authorities arranged a chartered flight to Iran via Qatar — a rare occurrence given the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries and Iran’s poor human rights record. This flight marked an unusual instance of cooperation between Washington and Tehran. Dozens of Iranians were deported on this flight, reportedly shackled, and escorted by armed guards during the Qatar–Tehran leg, according to one deportee named Sina. Upon arrival in Iran, passengers were questioned about their time in the US and their religious activities but were not immediately arrested.
Among the deported was the wife of Ali*, an Iranian Christian convert now residing in the US. Shortly after her return, Iranian intelligence authorities contacted and summoned her. Ali explained that despite her Christian faith, she was deported back to Iran, and now both she and Ali are under surveillance by Iranian security forces. This raises serious concerns about the repercussions of deporting religious converts to a country known for persecuting such individuals.
Ali’s case also highlights a critical procedural error identified by his attorney, Ali Herischi. Herischi represents Ali, his wife, and another deportee from the September flight. Several clients reported that sensitive information—such as statements about religious conversion, political activism, and reasons for seeking asylum—was not removed from their files before deportation. This breach could have exposed them to greater danger upon return, as Iranian authorities could use this information to target them.
Iran’s Christian population is estimated at around 800,000, with a significant portion comprising converts from Islam, according to Steve Dew-Jones of Article 18, a UK-based advocacy group monitoring violations against Christians in Iran. While officially recognized churches are heavily restricted by the government, underground house churches have proliferated. Despite this, converts face severe persecution. Apostasy—the act of converting from Islam—is punishable by arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment. Arrests of converts have reportedly increased sixfold between 2023 and 2024, with Iranian authorities increasingly labeling converts as “Zionist Christians,” linking them to Israel and framing their religious practices as national security threats.
These developments complicate asylum claims for Iranian converts