United States trying to deport migrant to Australia, despite him having no connection to the country
Reza Zavvar, 52, was originally from Iran. He now lives in the American state Maryland, and has been in the United States since the mid-1980s. He works as a recruiter.
While he did initially have a green card, which grants permanent residence in the United States, it was stripped of him in 2004 over a minor offences related to his possession of the drug marijuana in the 1990s.
In 2007, he was granted a non-expulsion order, meaning he could not be deported back to the country of his birth, Iran.
Mr Zavvar's lawyer, Ava Benach, says those marijuana offences are why he is now being targeted for deportation.
'On June 28, ICE arrested Reza Zavvar, a criminal illegal alien from Iran. He was convicted of attempted possession of a controlled substance,' Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the US Department of Homeland Security said last month, explaining his current detention.
'They got him while he was walking his dog in his quiet suburban neighbourhood,' Ms Benach told the ABC, referring to agents from the US immigration enforcement agency ICE, whose powers and resources have been boosted by President Donald Trump.
'And they detained him and sent him to Texas to hold him, and they said: 'We're gonna deport you to Australia or Romania.'
'How they picked those countries is a mystery to me.'
And, indeed, to the rest of us.
Mr Zavvar's mother, Firouzeh Firouzabadi, told NBC4 Washington that shortly after he left home to walk his dog Duke on June 28, uniformed agents arrived at the door, where she lived with him, with Duke's leash in their hands.
'I heard the knock on the door,' Ms Firouzabadi said.
'I was shaking. My brother was behind me holding me, and a lot of questions were coming, but the first thing that came to my mind was that maybe a car hit him and he's on the floor, that's why they brought him, Duke to me.
'That was the first thing that hit me. It was hard.'
To be clear, Mr Zavvar has no ties to Australia or Romania. He has resided in America for about 40 years, since he arrived there at the age of 12.
Yet he has received two 'notices of removal' from America's Department of Homeland Security, signalling its intention to send him away. One says the destination will be Australia, the other Romania.
Those notices were served on him at the beginning of July.
The aforementioned court order from 2007 prevents him from being deported to his native Iran because it could place him in danger of persecution.
So, consistent with its policy of trying to send such people to third-party countries instead, the Trump administration is looking elsewhere.
The Australian government says it has not been approached about the case.
'There have been no new agreements made with the Trump administration on immigration,' said a spokesperson.
America, however, seems determined to deport Mr Zavvar.
Here is the quote from Ms McLaughlin, who serves as an assistant secretary at DHS in addition to being among its chief spokespeople: 'ICE continues to try and find a country willing to accept this criminal illegal alien.'
'The Trump administration will not ignore the rule of law,' she said.
'Under President Trump and Secretary (Kristi) Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the US.'
Mr Zavvar's family are seeking donations to help him fund a fight in the courts.
'After 40 years of living in the US, Reza knows no other home,' his sister, Maryam, wrote as part of an online petition.
'He waits in a privately run detention centre, thousands of miles from anything familiar, while bureaucrats decide his future.'
His sister described him as a 'gentle giant', talented at sports but 'kind and warm-hearted' off the field.
The petition claims Mr Zavvar has long been a contributor to his local community, donating sandwiches to the hungry and helping his neighbours.
Duke, the aforementioned dog, was adopted from a shelter.
The selection of Australia and Romania stands out because in many cases, the Trump administration has used deportees as bargaining chips in broader negotiations with foreign governments, mostly in South America and Africa.
The practice of deporting people to third countries was rare until this year.
Tom Homan, the man frequently described as Mr Trump's 'border czar', has claimed most migrants targeted by ICE are either 'criminals' or 'national security threats'.
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