Latest news with #Karimi
News18
07-08-2025
- Politics
- News18
US lawmakers push Afghan Adjustment Act to grant residency to evacuees
Washington [US], August 7 (ANI): Four years after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, thousands of Afghan citizens who supported American institutions remain in the United States without permanent legal status, Tolo News reported.A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has now introduced the 'Afghan Adjustment Act" to offer a legal pathway to permanent residency for these to a statement from the US House of Representatives, as cited by Tolo News, 'The Afghan Adjustment Act would establish a pathway to lawful permanent status for tens of thousands of Afghans currently in the US who evacuated from Afghanistan following the US military withdrawal. After completing additional vetting requirements, this adjustment of status would provide support to eligible Afghans in need of protection with stability as they continue to rebuild their lives."The proposed legislation covers tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the US during the 2021 emergency Karimi, an immigration activist, told Tolo News: 'This bill can help vulnerable Afghans obtain permanent residency in the US and avoid deportation, but its passage is not easy because many politicians in the US oppose immigration, and the legal and security process is very complex."Afghan Evac, an organization working to assist Afghans in the US, urged immediate passage of the bill, stating this is the third opportunity for the US Congress to meet its moral News quoted the organisation as saying: 'This marks the third time Congress has had the chance to do right by the Afghans who stood with us during 20 years of war. We cannot afford another delay."Mohammad Jamal Muslim, another immigration activist, noted: 'The adjustment bill in US immigration law serves the interest of Congress. Those who are genuine collaborators will receive permanent residency, while others who were brought to the US through support from caseworkers and supervisors may be deported after identification and documentation."Meanwhile, Afghan immigration applicants stuck in third countries are appealing to the Trump administration to simplify the process for their transfer to the P-1 and P-2 case holder in Pakistan told Tolo News: 'P-1 and P-2 case holders residing in Pakistan are struggling with enormous financial and psychological hardships, and even the slightest hope of resuming the USRAP program would bring joy to this vulnerable group."Previously, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning citizens from twelve countries, including Afghanistan, from entering the United States. (ANI)
Buzz Feed
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
Iranian Trump Supporter Detained By ICE, Wife Shocked
An Alabama woman married to an Iranian immigrant says her family regrets supporting President Donald Trump and his aggressive immigration policies after ICE detained her husband over the weekend as part of a recent round-up of Iranian nationals. 'We believed in his [Trump's] immigration policies and were completely blindsided and truly believed that only criminals were being detained,' Morgan Gardner told Newsweek. Gardner's husband, Ribvar Karimi, was one of 11 Iranian nationals arrested Sunday and taken into the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security claimed the arrests reflect its 'commitment to keeping known and suspected terrorists out of American communities.' DHS has painted Karimi as a threat to national security, saying he served as a sniper in the Iranian army from 2018 to 2021 and had an Islamic Republic of Iran army identification card. Military service is compulsory in Iran for all men aged 18–49. Draft evaders face prosecution and may lose their social benefits and civil rights, including employment, education, and the ability to leave the country. Deserters face imprisonment. 'We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are. We don't wait until a military operation to execute; we proactively deliver on President Trump's mandate to secure the homeland,' DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. Gardner told CBS affiliate WIAT that her husband 'never fought any American forces or our allies,' and said 'he actually fought ISIS himself and was captured at one point' during his service. According to the couple's wedding website, they first met online playing the video game Call of Duty: Mobile. 'He brought happiness back to me, and taught me what it is like to be loved correctly,' Gardner wrote on the site. 'He encouraged me, and still encourages me each and every day. He sees the best in me, and never has given up, despite how difficult I can be sometimes.' Gardner's cousin Cyndi Edwards wrote in a GoFundMe set up to offset legal fees that the couple spent years 'meeting in Turkey while navigating the complex immigration process.' 'Ribvar quickly became a beloved member of Morgan's rural Alabama community, supporting her family and friends, and caring for Morgan's father during a health crisis,' Edwards wrote. 'Most importantly, Ribvar helped Morgan find her self-worth and guided her toward a healthier, happier life.' DHS said Karimi entered the US legally in October 2024 under a K-1 marriage visa reserved for people engaged to American citizens. However, he never adjusted his status, which is a legal requirement, and not doing so can trigger a removal order. Gardner told WIAT that her attorney said previous administrations would not have let her husband be taken away and that he should have been protected because he is married to a US citizen. She added that she and Karimi put his green card application on hold after she found out she was pregnant and had pregnancy complications. 'I understand that they've got a job to do, immigration, but I just feel like he was specifically targeted because of what's going on where he's from, his home country,' Gardner told WIAT. Gardner is seven months pregnant, but remains hopeful that her husband will be with her when she gives birth. 'My heart is broken,' Gardner told the outlet. 'Our baby shower is going to be next weekend, and he's not going to be at home to go to that with me.' Giving birth alone is not Gardner's only fear. She told Newsweek that Karimi's family worries that if he were to be deported back to Iran, the government would kill him due to his open support for the US and opposition to the Iranian regime. 'My husband himself, even being from Iran, supported Trump, his immigration policies, and understood he was trying to protect the American people and was praying he helped free the Iranian people,' Gardner told Newsweek. While Morgan told the outlet she did not vote in the previous presidential election, her family has supported Trump in the past and now feels betrayed. 'Everyone feels like a fool and regrets the decision. I personally didn't vote in the last election, and neither did my parents. At this point, I believe there are bad people on the left and the right,' Gardner said.
International Business Times
26-06-2025
- International Business Times
Linet Vartanians: Wife of Iranian Illegal Immigrant Threatened to Shoot ICE Agents When They Reached Her Home to Arrest Husband
The wife of an Iranian illegal immigrant allegedly threatened to shoot ICE agents in the head when they showed up at the couple's Arizona home to arrest her husband, Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand, who had been ignoring a deportation order for over ten years. Linet Vartanians, 37, is accused of threatening federal agents that she had a loaded weapon and would open fire on anyone who tried to enter the couple's Tempe home, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. She also allegedly made direct threats to shoot the ICE officers in the head as they stood outside the home on Saturday. Arrested for Threatening ICE Agents Both Linet Vartanians and illegal immigrant husband, Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand, 40, were federally indicted on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Eidivand has been under a deportation order since 2013 but has remained in the U.S. illegally. When ICE agents arrived at their home, they were met by Vartanians, who refused to let them in, demanded a warrant, and then contacted local police, the U.S. attorney said. A police dispatcher who spoke with Eidivand said that the undocumented immigrant admitted to having three firearms in the house. Federal agents came back the next day with a search warrant and found one loaded gun on the kitchen counter and another on a nightstand. The couple was arrested that same day. The Trump administration has intensified its efforts to arrest Iranian nationals as part of its broader mass deportation strategy, particularly in the aftermath of U.S. airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. Over the past week, ICE arrested 130 illegal Iranian immigrants across the U.S., including people suspected of terrorism, according to NewsNation. Big Suspects Arrested Among those arrested is an Iranian army sniper and a suspected terrorist linked to Hezbollah. Ribvar Karimi, who was an Iranian Army sniper from 2018 to 2021, was arrested in rural Alabama, where he had been living with his American wife. ICE agents tracked him on Sunday in the town of Locust Fork and found an identification card from the Islamic Republic of Iran Army in his possession, DHS claimed. Karimi legally arrived in the US in October during the Biden administration on a K-1 visa, which is issued to foreign nationals engaged to American citizens. Karimi married his fiancée, Morgan Gardener, in January of this year. However, he did not complete the necessary steps to adjust his immigration status, which rendered his stay in the U.S. illegal. Karimi's American wife maintains that he loves America and considers himself a proud immigrant. "This man loves America, the first purchase he made when he got here was an American Flag," Morgan Gardner told a local station. "If he was here on bad intentions, he wouldn't have done that, he wouldn't be willing to walk around with a flag, knowing he could get deported and sent back to a country where he could be killed for that." She is currently seven months pregnant with their first child and fears she may have to give birth without him by her side.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pregnant Alabama woman's heartbreak as husband accused of being ‘ex-Iranian Army sniper' by ICE
An alleged ex-Iranian Army sniper, detained by ICE agents in Alabama, may now be forced to leave behind his pregnant wife as he faces deportation. Ribvar Karimi was among a group of 11 Iranian nationals who were arrested over the weekend and accused of being in the country illegally, the Department of Homeland Security said. The arrests came hours after President Donald Trump ordered a series of strikes against Iran. Karimi 'reportedly served as an Iranian Army sniper' between 2018 and 2021, the DHS said Tuesday. Upon his arrest Sunday, the man was accused of having in his possession an Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card. He is currently being held in ICE custody, where the DHS said he will remain pending removal proceedings. Karimi allegedly entered the U.S. in October last year on a K-1 visa, which is issued to a foreign national who is a fiancé or fiancée of a U.S. citizen. The document requires a couple to marry within 90 days of entry. His wife, Morgan Karimi, said he came to the U.S. so the couple could get married. The DHS claims that Karimi 'never adjusted his status,' suggesting that the visa terms were broken because he either failed to apply for a green card or didn't marry within the required timeframe. The agency did not provide further information. Morgan Karimi, however, contests that she and Karimi did marry within the 90-day window and that her husband was mistakenly swept up in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. The Blount County resident, who is 31 weeks pregnant, revealed she first met Karimi online in February 2019 while playing Call of Duty Mobile, according to a website dedicated to the couple's wedding. The couple was due to tie the knot on February 22 in Blountsville. 'He came to the U.S. LEGALLY on a K1 fiancé visa. We followed all the rules—got married within the 90-day window just like we were supposed to,' Morgan Karimi said of her husband in a Facebook plea. 'We've done everything by the book.' Morgan Karimi has asked for financial help from the local community to hire an immigration attorney 'to fight for his freedom and keep our family together.' In another Facebook post on Tuesday, Morgan shared a montage of photos of her husband sporting several items of clothes adorned with the star-spangled banner. One video appears to show Karimi running around, jubilantly, waving the American flag. 'There is no one who deserves to be here more than this man. He loves our country,' she wrote. Morgan said she has managed to make contact with her husband in ICE custody, who said he is worried both about her and their unborn child. Her Facebook page chronicles the couple's relationship and their efforts to attain a visa for Karimi. On April 18, Morgan shared a picture of an ultrasound scan of the couple's baby. On September 21 last year, she asked for recommendations on how the couple could make their wedding more affordable 'because the visa process hasn't been cheap.' Three days later, Morgan shared that Karimi's visa had 'FINALLY been approved,' adding: 'Let the wedding planning begin!' According to screenshots shared on her Facebook profile, Karimi's case was approved on January 3, 2023. His visa application was allegedly first received in September 2021, according to the social media post. In a photo from August 2022, Karimi was photographed wearing a t-shirt clearly labeled with a black and white American flag on its chest. In May 2021, Morgan Karimi updated her Facebook status to say that she was engaged. Following the near-dozen ICE arrests over the weekend, the DHS rallied behind their aggressive immigration raids, vying to get the 'worst of the worst out.' 'Under Secretary Noem, DHS has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden's fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,' DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. 'We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are.' The Independent has contacted the DHS for more information.
Kuwait Times
28-05-2025
- General
- Kuwait Times
Without reform, youth will inherit growing racism, classism: Expert
Professor urges redefining racism in line with regional realities, recognizing effect of external factors KUWAIT: A Kuwait University professor says thoughtful analysis and reform, especially in media and education, is needed to address the rise of racism in the Gulf. Dr Sawsan Karimi, a university professor specializing in Middle Eastern anthropology, said tackling racism requires defining what it means in the Gulf context. 'Is it the concept we use globally to address inhumane behavior, or is it something shaped by our own historical experience? Or is it a concept imposed on us externally?' she asks. She explains that the Western experience with racism, especially against black people, shaped much of the global discourse on racism due to Western dominance and their tendency to apply their standards universally. 'We didn't experience racism exactly in the same way, but that doesn't mean we are free from it. The concept itself is problematic and needs to be deconstructed to relate it properly to our historical and cultural context.' Current influences Today, Dr Karimi observes that racism in the Gulf is influenced heavily by regional religious, sectarian, and ethnic conflicts. 'We are not a closed society; we are influenced by external factors, including conflicts around us.' Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram further feed these attitudes, especially among the youth. 'Our children's attitudes are shaped by what is superficially presented on these platforms. Because we are mainly consumers, not producers of content.' She warns that without real reform in media and education, which have the greatest impact on young minds, these issues will worsen. Wealth and classism Another key factor is the Gulf's rapid modernization and economic wealth. 'I think one of the biggest challenges we face is the effects of economic wealth on our socio-cultural structure,' she said. Dr Karimi explains how this has created an unhealthy form of classism that often outweighs ethnic or racial affiliations. 'Wealthy people tend to marry each other, even with different, let's say, ethnic affiliations. But a person of the same race will not take a very poor person,' Dr Karimi added. The Gulf is one of the world's most consumptive regions per capita—whether in water, food, or luxury goods,' she said, highlighting the rampant classism that people in the Gulf grapple with. 'Much of our wealth is spent on consumption, social status, and showmanship.' Dr Karimi stresses that the media and education system play a crucial role in addressing these issues and instilling the ethics of justice, equality, love, and cooperation. 'These are not new values for Gulf societies; our tradition of neighborliness is based on mutual support and social solidarity.' She advocates for media—such as popular soap operas—to actively preserve and promote these values through their narratives. Similarly, education must reinforce these ethics in tangible ways. 'What we sow now, we will reap soon. If the media and education systems do not change, the situation will deteriorate,' Dr Karimi warns. However, she remains optimistic: 'If we undertake a serious review and reform process, we can avoid future problems.'
