Washington DC - A new lawsuit alleges that President Donald Trump's administration provided Iranian officials with the personal information and immigration status of citizens seeking asylum in the US.

The lawsuit was filed by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund (IALDF) in a Federal District Court in Washington, arguing that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had worked directly with the Iranian government to select people for deportation.

Some of those who were deported due to the US' collaboration with Tehran were LGBTQ+ people or dissidents, many of whom risk being tortured or executed upon their return to Iran.

According to the IALDF, these communications breach Department of Homeland Security regulations that block any disclosure of sensitive information provided within refugee status or asylum seeker applications.

"These freedom fighters fled Iran fearing imprisonment, torture, or death – only for ICE to deliver them, mid-detention, to face agents of that same regime who already knew their names and case details," the IALDF said in a statement on X.

"Terrified and betrayed, many now believe the system meant to protect them is handing them back to their persecutors. Confidentiality isn't optional – it's the law. Breaking it doesn't just endanger a case. It endangers a life. We are suing to stop this."

Speaking with the New York Times, Public Citizen lawyer Michael Kirkpatrick – who represents the IALDF – said the lawsuit was based on the accounts of witnesses and detainees who had been forced to meet with Iranian officials.

A DHS spokesperson insisted in a statement that ICE has never shared "asylum application records" with Iran.

According to the spokesperson, ICE "provides illegal aliens the opportunity to contact their consular post and facilitates consular access to detained individuals, in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and agency policy."