Officials said her legal status was revoked before the arrest, but Iranian media challenged the claimed family tie.
LOS ANGELES, CA — U.S. immigration agents have arrested a Los Angeles woman the Trump administration identified as a niece of slain Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, along with her daughter, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he revoked their green cards late last week.
The case quickly drew attention because it mixed immigration enforcement, national security claims and the long-running U.S. conflict with Iran. Federal officials said the two women were taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody Friday and now face removal proceedings. At the same time, Iranian state media and members of Soleimani’s family disputed the claim that the older woman was actually related to him, leaving a central point of the administration’s public case in dispute even as the arrests moved forward.
Rubio announced the detentions Saturday, saying Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, had been arrested after their lawful permanent resident status was terminated. U.S. officials said the two had been living in Los Angeles and were taken into custody Friday night. The State Department and ICE did not publicly give a street address or detention location. In a statement released by his office, Rubio said the administration would not allow the country to serve as a home for foreign nationals who support what he called anti-American terrorist regimes. The secretary’s office said Afshar had promoted Iranian government propaganda, praised the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and celebrated attacks on American troops and military sites in the Middle East. Los Angeles media outlets reported the arrests after the federal announcement, and local police did not immediately describe any role in the operation.
The federal account included several details about how the case developed. According to statements described by local news outlets, Afshar entered the United States in 2015 on a tourist visa, later received asylum in 2019 and became a green card holder in 2021. Her daughter also entered in 2015, officials said, first on a student visa, then through asylum in 2019, and later obtained permanent residency in 2023. The Department of Homeland Security said Afshar traveled back to Iran four times after receiving asylum, and officials argued those trips undercut the basis of her original claim for protection. DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said permanent residence is a privilege, not a guarantee, and can be revoked if officials believe the holder poses a threat to the United States. What the government has not publicly released, however, are the underlying immigration records, court filings or investigative documents supporting those assertions. It also has not said whether the women have lawyers, where they are being held, or when their first immigration court appearances are scheduled.
The story carries weight far beyond one arrest because of the name at its center. Soleimani, who led the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term. The Pentagon said at the time that he had been developing plans against American personnel and diplomats. Since then, Soleimani has remained a powerful symbol in Iran and a sharp point of anger in Washington. That history made the administration’s decision to spotlight the alleged family link especially notable. It also helps explain why the dispute over that link matters. Reuters reported that Iranian state media quoted a foreign ministry official saying the woman arrested in the United States had no family ties to Soleimani. Iranian reports also cited his daughter, Narjes Soleimani, as saying the family and close relatives had never lived in the United States and that he had nephews, not nieces. U.S. officials have not publicly answered those denials in detail.
The detentions also fit a broader policy move now underway in Washington. Federal officials said the Soleimani case was part of a wider campaign against foreign nationals accused of ties to the Iranian government. The State Department said Rubio earlier terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, identified as the daughter of former Iranian political figure Ali Larijani, and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. The department said they were no longer in the United States and had been barred from returning. In that sense, the Los Angeles arrests were not treated as an isolated immigration matter but as a public example of the administration’s national security posture during a period of heightened regional tension. Civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups have raised broader concerns in recent months about how quickly immigration penalties can be imposed and whether affected people get meaningful due process before detention or removal. So far, though, federal officials have framed the Soleimani case almost entirely as a security decision.
In Los Angeles, the public picture of the case has been shaped as much by image and rhetoric as by court records. The State Department said Afshar had been “enjoying a lavish lifestyle” in the city, a phrase repeated in several reports about deleted social media posts that allegedly showed travel, parties and luxury goods. Officials used that description to argue that the women were taking advantage of life in the United States while supporting a government hostile to it. That framing gave the announcement a political edge and helped drive national attention, but it did not answer the practical questions that usually follow an arrest. Neighbors, renters and local residents quoted in television reports described a sudden federal action that unfolded in an ordinary Los Angeles setting. One local witness told reporters the scene was shocking to watch. Even with that attention, important details remained unsettled Monday, including whether formal notices to appear had been filed in immigration court, whether bond would be available, and whether the women would contest both the removal case and the government’s public accusations.
For now, the case stands at an early but highly visible stage. The administration says both women remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States, while the dispute over their connection to Soleimani and the basis for revoking their status remains unresolved in public view. The next milestone is expected to be an immigration court step or a new federal statement identifying where the proceedings will be held and on what date.
Author note: Last updated April 6, 2026.