Iranian-American group slams arrests of Iranian immigrants in the US
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) on Thursday called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to end its "outrageous targeting of individuals on the basis of their Iranian heritage" after an increase in the number of Iranian immigrants taken away to detention centers for deportation.
'In the wake of U.S. military strikes on Iran on Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security has engaged in racial profiling and indiscriminate mass arrests of Iranians across the country, all under the guise of 'national security,'" NIAC said in a statement.
Fox News reported that more than 130 Iranian nationals have been detained in the past week, with 670 Iranians now held in ICE custody nationwide.
'As with all broad and racially motivated enforcement actions, everyday people suffer the most. Among those targeted is 64-year-old Donna Kashanian of Louisiana, who has lived in the United States for 47 years and is married to an American citizen," the statement continued.
'Like many Iranian Americans, those arrested often came to the U.S. in search of opportunity and freedom from an authoritarian government. Now, their mere identity now appears to be grounds for arrest in the so-called 'land of the free'".
NIAC said it is demanding ICE release "all those who are being unjustly detained".
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