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More than a dozen Democratic lawmakers have signed onto a letter urging President Donald Trump's administration to protect Iranians living in the U.S. who could not safely return to Iran.
"We write to urge the Trump administration to immediately institute protections for Iranian nationals currently in the United States who cannot return home safely," the letter states.
"The Administration must not forcibly return Iranian families in the United States to Iran — where they face the dual threat of the regime’s humanitarian abuses and dangers a resumption of the war poses — and should therefore pause deportation flights and designate Iranians for temporary protection, such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)," it continues.
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The letter accuses the Trump administration of launching "attacks on Iran unlawfully, without the constitutionally required congressional authorization, plunging millions of innocent civilians into a state of insecurity, with the human cost of the conflict mounting daily."
"Having initiated the current war with Iran, the Trump administration bears a moral and humanitarian responsibility to provide Iranian nationals with an immediate shield from removal," the message asserts.
"The Administration should also provide assistance to Iranians in the United States while they are unable to return home, by resuming the processing of immigration benefits and expediting the issuance of work authorization documents," the letter states.
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The April 23 letter is directed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow.
The letter is signed by Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, Sen. Alex Padilla of California, Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Sen. Adam Schiff of California, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Reps. Dan Goldman of New York, Hank Johnson of Georgia, Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, Dave Min of California, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Brad Sherman of California, Lateefah Simon of California, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington D.C.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House to request comment on Friday.
Rubio has yanked the lawful permanent resident status of multiple individuals with ties to the Iranian regime. For example, the State Department announced earlier this month that "the niece and grand niece of deceased Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani were arrested by federal agents following Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s termination of their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status."
"Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As identified by both press reporting and her own social media commentary, Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran," the department noted in the April 4 notice.
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