Mandonna "Donna" Kashanian, a 64-year-old Iranian woman, has recently been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers while gardening in her New Orleans yard. Kashanian moved to the United States in 1978 on a student visa and applied for asylum due to fears of retaliation against her family for their support of the U.S.-backed shah. Although her asylum application was denied, she was allowed to stay in the U.S. with her husband and child under the condition that she check in with immigration officials regularly. Throughout her stay, she complied with these requirements, even checking in during Hurricane Katrina.
Currently, Kashanian is detained at an immigration center in Basile, Louisiana, as her family seeks information regarding her case. Reports indicate that other Iranians have also faced arrest by immigration authorities in recent weeks amid heightened tensions due to U.S. military actions against Iran. ICE's actions have led to concerns among Iranian American advocacy groups, like the National Iranian American Council, which describe the arrests as indiscriminate and fear-inducing, lacking direct links to any credible threats.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not commented specifically on Kashanian's case but has publicly announced several arrests of Iranians on immigration violations, claiming these individuals posed threats. The arrests coincide with the U.S. missile strikes and subsequent military actions, which have stoked fears within the Iranian community in the U.S. Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin stated that the department has prioritized identifying and arresting individuals suspected of terrorism and related activities. However, she did not provide concrete evidence connecting the arrested individuals to any extremist affiliations.
Kashanian’s husband, Russell Milne, described his wife as a non-threatening individual who has built a life for herself and her family in Louisiana over the past four decades. The couple met in the late 1980s when Kashanian was a student and bartender. They went on to marry and raise a daughter together, with Kashanian engaging in various community activities, including volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and creating Persian cooking tutorials on YouTube.
Despite having complied with immigration regulations throughout her stay in the U.S., the threat of deportation always loomed over Kashanian and her family. Milne, who referred to her as a grandmother figure to children in the neighborhood, expressed disbelief over her arrest, raising critical questions about the motivations and targets of current immigration enforcement actions. The arrest of Iranians living in the U.S. contrasts significantly with trends observed during prior years when Iranians faced little risk of deportation due to strained diplomatic relations with Iran.
The article mentions that during the Trump administration, hundreds of undocumented immigrants were deported to third-party countries as a means to overcome diplomatic barriers. Under the current situation, the number of Iranians arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border rose dramatically, with 1,700 arrests reported from October 2021 to November 2024 due to illegal crossings. Similarly, annual reports indicate that approximately 600 Iranians overstayed their visas during the twelve-month period ending in September 2023.
As recent developments have unfolded, fears grow that immigration enforcement against Iranian nationals will intensify, especially following the introduction of a U.S. travel ban impacting Iran. In another incident, an Iranian man residing in Oregon was also detained shortly before a scheduled immigration check-in, raising further concerns about the treatment of long-term residents facing deportation. His attorney highlighted that deportation could expose him to significant dangers back in Iran, deepening the worries within the Iranian community about potential repercussions from the current geopolitical climate.
Kashanian’s situation illustrates the complexities surrounding immigration enforcement and the fears many Iranian families harbor regarding their status in the United States. Her daughter has expressed deep concern over her mother's well-being, emphasizing the family's efforts to comply with immigration regulations and highlighting the challenges posed by the evolving political landscape in relation to Iranian nationals. This backdrop sets a troubling foundation for family separation and the potential deportation of individuals with longstanding ties to the U.S., as community members seek to navigate a tense and uncertain future.
