DDC COURTHOUSE, Aug 12 – Before the
current military conflict with Iran in March 2025, a
lawsuit alleges that the U.S. State Department met with
Iran's interest section about deporting people from US to
Iran. The suit goes on to say that information about
dissidents and their asylum applications were
shared.
On August 5 DDC Judge Ana C. Reyes
held a hearing and put questions to the Government and to
lawyers for the non-profit which filed the lawsuit. She
said she needs more information. First, on what the
Government's declarant Noah Adams, Deputy Assistant
Director (DAD) for the Removal Management Division (RMD)
North, did before he declared that there is no policy of
sharing information.
And second, information from an
unnamed source in Iran's interest section who it is said
can confirm the policy. Judge Reyes said she would hear
from him "in camera, or under seal." The
Government's lawyer immediately demanded why, why would he
not testify openly. Judge Reyes barely suppressed a smile.
Because of how his government would react?
After a long discussion on
standing, specifically the organizational standing that
Reyes herself litigated in O.A. v. Trump (she twice
pointed out), questioning turned toward the practical. It
was confirmed there have been no deportation flights to
Iran since January 2026 - one in March was canceled by the
war. But one Iranian woman was deported in June 2026 to a
third country: the Central African Republic.
On August 12, the Assistant US Attorney
wrote in quoting himself from August 5 ("But additionally
-- and this was subject to your Honor’s question yesterday
to the parties of, when was the last time that these
individuals had contact with the Iranian Interests
Section?") and attaching, for the appellate records, Judge
Reyes' law clerk's August 4 email and the US Attorney's
Office's response that "Declarants P.M., S.O., A.M., N.Y.,
and N.A. all interacted with an official of the Islamic
Republic of Iran on or about November 2025."
Inner City Press, now with an expanding DDC
beat and focus, aims to have more on this.