Dear John,

Having an immigration attorney matters. It saves lives.

That simple truth is devastatingly apparent in the story of Ali, Amir, and Zeina—three LGBTQ friends from Iran who came to the United States in January 2025 seeking safety.  

All three had been persecuted. All three feared for their lives. But only Zeina was granted asylum. Ali and Amir were denied, despite their cases being based on the same facts.

The only difference? Zeina had a lawyer. Ali and Amir did not.

Now, Ali and Amir are at risk of being deported back to Iran, where they face criminal cases for the “crime” of being gay. In Iran, being gay is punishable by death.

We need your support to continue fighting their deportation. Will you make a year-end gift today to keep them safe?

By the time we learned about Ali and Amir’s cases, the Trump administration had denied their asylum claims.

They were already in danger of imminent removal. But then, for the first time in decades, the U.S. began deportations to Iran. They scheduled a deportation flight to Iran for December 7—and added Ali’s name to the list. He was transferred to a detention center in Arizona. Both he and Amir went on hunger strike.

Attorneys with our Immigration Justice Campaign, as well as our Policy team, mobilized immediately. While IJC worked with outside counsel to file an emergency petition in federal court, our Policy team activated several members of Congress to stop their deportation.

And it worked—we stopped Ali from being put on that plane.

But the danger isn’t over. Their cases are ongoing, and they’ve been denied stays of removal. Amir’s health has deteriorated so severely in detention that he’s now in a wheelchair.

Your year-end gift ensures they aren’t forced back into a country that could kill them. Please give what you can.

Sincerely,

Bekah Wolf 
Director, Immigration Justice Campaign