Deportation of Iranian Christian Converts: A Dangerous Journey Back Home

One Monday in mid-October, after a year in US immigration detention, officers arrived unannounced at Majid's cell in Texas.

They told him simply to pack up - that he was being moved - even though an immigration judge had already granted him protection from removal five months ago. Shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles, he was driven through the night to a military airfield in Louisiana.

Majid - not his real name - had fled Iran for the US in October 2024, after repeated detentions and alleged torture, first because of his involvement in the Mahsa Amini protests, and later because of his conversion to Christianity.

When US officials forced him to board a plane carrying more than 150 deportees heading to Managua, Nicaragua, he remembers being the only non–Latin American on the plane. Hours later, the flight landed and officials handcuffed him, denied his request for asylum and directed him onto an itinerary routing him through Venezuela and Turkey toward Iran - a journey he understood as a forced return.

Majid later was able to go into hiding in Istanbul, terrified of what awaited him back in Iran. He is one of several Iranian Christian converts whose asylum claims have been rejected in the past year. Their accounts point to inconsistencies in how US authorities assess the risks facing Iranian returnees.

A White House official stated that all individuals deported have had their asylum claims fully adjudicated prior to removal. Still, the experiences of those sent back underscore a troubling pattern affecting many others who fear persecution due to their religious beliefs.

In a move showing a significant shift in policy, the US arranged a chartered flight for deportations to Iran, marking an unusual cooperation despite strained diplomatic relations. Reports describe passengers in shackles and security concerns upon arrival.

In Iran, the persecution of Christians, particularly converts from Islam, remains a dangerous reality. Converts can face long prison sentences and threats against their lives.

The deportations significantly impact families, often separating members or leaving them in precarious situations without clear legal pathways. The desperate plight of Iranian Christian converts raises alarming questions about the US immigration enforcement landscape.