Yesterday, Public Citizen sued to stop an illegal Trump administration maneuver
that could put the lives of Iranian asylum seekers at greater risk.

The case is getting widespread coverage in outlets such as ABC News, The
Associated Press, Bloomberg, CNN, The Independent, MS NOW, NBC News, The New
Republic, The New York Times, NPR, Spectrum News, Truthout, The Washington Post,
and many, many more.

The Trump administration — in violation of its own rules — has been giving the
Iranian government information provided by people from Iran who are seeking
asylum in the U.S. The Iranian government is then using that information to
essentially tell our government which asylum seekers to expel back to Iran,
where they may well face persecution, torture, or even death.

Here’s more about this new lawsuit:

* The Trump regime is rejecting asylum seekers from Iran — including
pro-democracy activists, members of religious minorities, and LGBTQ+ people —
by the thousands. These are people who fear being persecuted, tortured, or
even killed if they are forcibly returned to their home country.

* What’s more, the Trump administration — in flagrant violation of its own
regulations — has been giving the Iranian government confidential information
that people have included in their asylum applications about why they fear
for their safety.

* This illegal and inhumane revelation of the reasons people are seeking asylum
in the first place could very well put them, along with their loved ones back
in Iran, in even greater danger.

* Is this what Donald Trump meant when he told the Iranian people back in
January — prior to the outset of his failed war against their country — that
“HELP IS ON ITS WAY”?

* As Michael Kirkpatrick, the Public Citizen attorney leading this case, noted
to the national media: “The law is clear. State Department and DHS
regulations prohibit ICE officials from revealing information from asylum
applications to foreign governments.”

* But the Trump administration is apparently more committed to its agenda of
mass deportations — even involving a country it launched a senseless and
catastrophic war against — than protecting human lives.

* So we are suing the Trump administration in federal court on behalf of the
Iranian American Legal Defense Fund. Our lawsuit asks the court to order the
Trump administration to stop sharing asylum-applicant information with the
government of Iran and to notify asylum seekers whose information was
unlawfully shared.

Public Citizen has filed 43 lawsuits (so far) against the administration since
Trump returned to power. Are these lawsuits alone enough to fully defeat Trump
and MAGA? Of course not. But are they a meaningful part of the pushback that is
the only chance we have to collectively save our country? No doubt about it.

What you and Public Citizen are doing together matters. What hundreds of other
organizations, big and small, are doing matters. What millions upon millions of
our fellow Americans are doing matters. We believe that to our core. We take
solace in that. And we draw inspiration from that. We hope you do, too.

If you can, please donate today to support Public Citizen as we continue
standing up to the Trump regime.
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For justice,

- Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen


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