Activist raises funds to keep Iranian regime's son in US after green card revocation
Raheleh Amiri launched a GoFundMe to help Seyed Eissa Hashemi, son of former hostage-crisis spokeswoman Masoumeh Ebtekar, avoid deportation after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked their green cards.
California activist Raheleh Amiri, a survivor of Iran's anti-government repression, is publicly opposing Seyed Eissa Hashemi, the son of former hostage-crisis spokeswoman Masoumeh Ebtekar, over his pending deportation. After Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the family’s green cards in April 2026, Hashemi, his wife Maryam Tahmasebi and their teenage son were placed in a Texas ICE detention center, with taxpayers covering their upkeep.
Amiri created a GoFundMe that has collected almost $40,000 to finance legal costs and living expenses while Tahmasebi’s lawyer contests the removal order. In a letter that went viral, Tahmasebi described the facility as “hell,” prompting backlash from the Iranian-American community. Amiri argues the family’s presence in the United States benefits the Iranian regime’s lobbying and propaganda efforts, urging Rubio to ensure their full deportation.
Why it matters
The case highlights how U.S. immigration enforcement intersects with concerns about foreign regime influence on American soil.
In this story
