Facing Deportation: Iranian Christian Converts in the US

Sat Nov 22 2025 08:00:09 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The US is deporting Iranian Christians back to a country where they face persecution for their faith. This article covers their harrowing experiences and the implications of US immigration policy.

Many Iranian Christian converts are at risk as the US cracks down on illegal immigration and deportations increase. Despite having asylum claims, some like Majid are being forcibly returned to Iran, facing potential persecution. The article highlights the contrasting experiences of deported individuals and documents the fears surrounding their return, where conversion from Islam could lead to imprisonment or worse.

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, he remembers being the only non-Latin American on the flight. 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 among several Iranian Christian converts who spoke about their asylum claims being rejected in the past year. Their accounts highlight inconsistencies in US assessments of risks facing Iranian returnees.

A few weeks earlier, a chartered deportation flight to Iran marked a rare instance of cooperation between the countries, leading to fear among previous deportees who are now being pursued by Iranian intelligence.

Converts like Majid and others risk severe consequences upon return, including imprisonment for their faith. The US's immigration policies remain controversial, particularly as many of these individuals claim religious persecution yet face deportation despite legal advocacy.