Iran War Raises Stakes for Gay Iranian Asylum Seekers in U.S. ICE Detention

CBS reports that two gay Iranian men, identified as Ali and Adel, have been held in U.S. immigration detention since crossing the southern border in January 2025, facing possible deportation back to Iran despite the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war there and prior criminal charges over their sexuality that carry a potential death sentence by hanging. The men fled Iran for Turkey, then traveled through South and Central America before being detained by U.S. authorities, and their attorney says they have endured poor conditions, homophobic harassment by guards and outing to other detainees, with one man left wheelchair‑bound after an assault in Mexico that allegedly has not been properly treated. Both initially lost their asylum cases after appearing without lawyers, and are now appealing; advocates say ICE has three times moved them into deportation staging for removal to Iran before backing off, all prior to the current war. Their lawyer believes deportations to Iran have paused since hostilities began, but says DHS has refused to give any assurance that, if their legal stays are lifted, they will not be sent back into a war zone where they face execution. The case spotlights how Trump‑era detention and removal policies collide with U.S. rhetoric about Iran’s regime and raise acute non‑refoulement questions when deportations would send vulnerable people into both state persecution and active conflict.