Latest news with #AraTorosian
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Chaos as ICE arrests Iranian couple in LA, woman suffers panic attack
In Los Angeles, federal agents detained an Iranian asylum-seeking couple with a 3-year-old child during a routine immigration check-in. The couple had legally entered through the Biden-era CBP One program. According to their pastor, Ara Torosian, the family fled religious persecution in Iran. A day after the first arrest, immigration agents raided another Iranian couple's home, triggering chaos and panic. Show more Show less
Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Woman Suffers Medical Emergency While Being Detained by ICE Agents
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. An Iranian woman experienced a medical emergency while being detained by masked immigration agents outside her Los Angeles home. During the operation on June 24, the woman appeared to suffer a severe panic attack after witnessing her husband's arrest by Border Patrol agents, according to NBC4 Los Angeles. In distress, she called her pastor, Ara Torosian, for help. "In one moment, I felt that I'm in the street of Tehran, under fear, under dictatorship," said Torosian, a pastor at Cornerstone Church in West Los Angeles. In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security said: "Agents immediately contacted EMS and escorted her to the hospital. Agent presence at the hospital was solely to guard the subject receiving medical care—a standard procedure when an individual in the country illegally requires medical attention." The woman has since been discharged from hospital and remains in custody. Newsweek has contacted DHS by email and the pastor via Instagram for comment. An Iranian woman experienced a medical emergency while being detained by masked immigration agents outside her home. An Iranian woman experienced a medical emergency while being detained by masked immigration agents outside her home. Ara Torosian Why It Matters President Donald Trump's immigration enforcers are facing intense scrutiny as the Republican-led administration carries out plans to remove millions of migrants without legal status as part of a mass deportation policy. The raids - some of which have been viewed as heavy handed - have prompted nationwide protests. What To Know Torosian told NBC4 Los Angeles that federal agents detained several members of his congregation on Tuesday, including the woman's partner. The names of those arrested have not been disclosed. The pastor said he had decided to cancel church services because many of his congregation were from the Iranian community and were now feeling afraid. "With lots of pain, I called them and said, 'Please don't come to the church,'" said Torosian. "I will miss them, and hopefully I can hug them and love them and preach for them again." Torosian said the couple are asylum seekers who left Iran, partly in fear of facing persecution due to their Christianity. However, DHS said that during a targeted enforcement operation in Los Angeles, Border Patrol agents apprehended two Iranian nationals who were unlawfully present in the U.S. and had been flagged as subjects of national security interest. Footage shared on Instagram shows the woman screaming and kicking her legs as she is being detained by federal agents. The pastor told NBC4 Los Angeles the agents said they had a warrant to detain the couple, although they did not show this to him. He said the couple had no criminal record and had been attending his church for more than a year. Torosian also told the outlet that five members of his congregation had been detained by federal agents this week, including a family with a 3-year-old daughter. Iranian nationals in the U.S. have come under increased attention following President Trump's recent strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) New York field office director told Newsweek that all Americans were at risk from Iranian sleeper cells. What People Are Saying Ara Torosian wrote in a social media post: "As an Iranian pastor at Cornerstone Church West LA, I watched in pain today as women—who fled Iran's dictatorship for freedom—were arrested outside their own home here in Los Angeles. They came seeking refuge, not another nightmare. This is not the justice they hoped for." Retired ICE agent Tom Decker told Newsweek: "Everyone in the United States are at risk by Iranian sleeper cells because of sanctuary cities." What Happens Next Both the woman and her husband are now in the custody of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), pending removal.
The Star
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Immigration officers arrest Iranian asylum-seekers in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Pastor Ara Torosian received a distressed phone call from two Iranian members of his Farsi-speaking church on Tuesday -- U.S. federal immigration officers were at their Los Angeles home to arrest them. It was the second such call he received this week. On Monday, an Iranian couple with a 3-year-old was detained at a routine immigration appointment, Torosian said. Both families were recently arrived asylum seekers, who had entered the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border after making an appointment, he said. The appointment system, known as CBP One, was launched by former U.S. President Joe Biden to promote orderly border crossings. President Donald Trump ended the program when he took office, as part of his aggressive crackdown on immigration. Torosian said when he arrived at the couple's home on Tuesday he saw an 'army' of federal law enforcement officers and began filming on his cell phone as officers stopped him from getting close to his church members. As officers restrained the woman being detained she started to have a panic attack and began convulsing on the floor, he said. 'She's sick! Call 911!' Torosian is heard shouting on the video. 'Why are you guys doing this?' Torosian said the couple fled religious persecution in Iran. In a statement on X, the Department of Homeland Security said that it detained two Iranian nationals in Los Angeles on Tuesday, who had been flagged for national security reasons. It said the woman was taken to hospital, but was later discharged and both are now in immigration custody. The arrests came after U.S. military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities in the early hours of Sunday morning local time. In a press release on Tuesday, the DHS said it had arrested 11 Iranians in the country illegally over the weekend. Iran doesn't accept deportees from the United States, but on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport migrants to countries other than their own, without offering them a chance to show the harms they could face there. Torosian said his congregation has between 50 and 60 members, most of whom have been in the country for less than two years. He said he is telling them to stay home rather than come to church. "In a million years, a million years, I never imagined, one day I can call my members and tell them that better not to come to the church, because as I know, America is a free country, but they're afraid," Torosian said. "Some of them lock themselves in their house." Torosian himself is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He said the arrest he witnessed was traumatic. "When I was seeing the masked soldiers put down a woman, a female, on the ground, it triggered me," he said. "I'm on the street of Los Angeles or the street of Tehran? So that was what made me very sad and I cried a lot." (Reporting by Sandra Stojanovic in Los Angeles;Editing by Michael Perry)
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Immigration officers arrest Iranian asylum-seekers in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, June 26 (Reuters) - Pastor Ara Torosian received a distressed phone call from two Iranian members of his Farsi-speaking church on Tuesday -- U.S. federal immigration officers were at their Los Angeles home to arrest them. It was the second such call he received this week. On Monday, an Iranian couple with a 3-year-old was detained at a routine immigration appointment, Torosian said. Both families were recently arrived asylum seekers, who had entered the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border after making an appointment, he said. The appointment system, known as CBP One, was launched by former U.S. President Joe Biden to promote orderly border crossings. President Donald Trump ended the program when he took office, as part of his aggressive crackdown on immigration. Torosian said when he arrived at the couple's home on Tuesday he saw an 'army' of federal law enforcement officers and began filming on his cell phone as officers stopped him from getting close to his church members. As officers restrained the woman being detained she started to have a panic attack and began convulsing on the floor, he said. 'She's sick! Call 911!' Torosian is heard shouting on the video. 'Why are you guys doing this?' Torosian said the couple fled religious persecution in Iran. In a statement on X, the Department of Homeland Security said that it detained two Iranian nationals in Los Angeles on Tuesday, who had been flagged for national security reasons. It said the woman was taken to hospital, but was later discharged and both are now in immigration custody. The arrests came after U.S. military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities in the early hours of Sunday morning local time. In a press release on Tuesday, the DHS said it had arrested 11 Iranians in the country illegally over the weekend. Iran doesn't accept deportees from the United States, but on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport migrants to countries other than their own, without offering them a chance to show the harms they could face there. Torosian said his congregation has between 50 and 60 members, most of whom have been in the country for less than two years. He said he is telling them to stay home rather than come to church. "In a million years, a million years, I never imagined, one day I can call my members and tell them that better not to come to the church, because as I know, America is a free country, but they're afraid," Torosian said. "Some of them lock themselves in their house." Torosian himself is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He said the arrest he witnessed was traumatic. "When I was seeing the masked soldiers put down a woman, a female, on the ground, it triggered me," he said. "I'm on the street of Los Angeles or the street of Tehran? So that was what made me very sad and I cried a lot."
Straits Times
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Immigration officers arrest Iranian asylum-seekers in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES - Pastor Ara Torosian received a distressed phone call from two Iranian members of his Farsi-speaking church on Tuesday -- U.S. federal immigration officers were at their Los Angeles home to arrest them. It was the second such call he received this week. On Monday, an Iranian couple with a 3-year-old was detained at a routine immigration appointment, Torosian said. Both families were recently arrived asylum seekers, who had entered the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border after making an appointment, he said. The appointment system, known as CBP One, was launched by former U.S. President Joe Biden to promote orderly border crossings. President Donald Trump ended the program when he took office, as part of his aggressive crackdown on immigration. Torosian said when he arrived at the couple's home on Tuesday he saw an 'army' of federal law enforcement officers and began filming on his cell phone as officers stopped him from getting close to his church members. As officers restrained the woman being detained she started to have a panic attack and began convulsing on the floor, he said. 'She's sick! Call 911!' Torosian is heard shouting on the video. 'Why are you guys doing this?' Torosian said the couple fled religious persecution in Iran. In a statement on X, the Department of Homeland Security said that it detained two Iranian nationals in Los Angeles on Tuesday, who had been flagged for national security reasons. It said the woman was taken to hospital, but was later discharged and both are now in immigration custody. The arrests came after U.S. military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities in the early hours of Sunday morning local time. In a press release on Tuesday, the DHS said it had arrested 11 Iranians in the country illegally over the weekend. Iran doesn't accept deportees from the United States, but on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport migrants to countries other than their own, without offering them a chance to show the harms they could face there. Torosian said his congregation has between 50 and 60 members, most of whom have been in the country for less than two years. He said he is telling them to stay home rather than come to church. "In a million years, a million years, I never imagined, one day I can call my members and tell them that better not to come to the church, because as I know, America is a free country, but they're afraid," Torosian said. "Some of them lock themselves in their house." Torosian himself is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He said the arrest he witnessed was traumatic. "When I was seeing the masked soldiers put down a woman, a female, on the ground, it triggered me," he said. "I'm on the street of Los Angeles or the street of Tehran? So that was what made me very sad and I cried a lot." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
