{"id":41130,"date":"2026-04-04T17:48:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T17:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=41130"},"modified":"2026-04-04T17:48:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T17:48:36","slug":"ice-arrests-soleimanis-niece-after-state-dept-terminates-her-legal-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=41130","title":{"rendered":"ICE arrests Soleimani&#8217;s niece after State Dept terminates her legal status"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"featured featured-video video-ct\" data-v-324c3b57=\"\"><!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"contain\" data-v-324c3b57=\"\">  <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"info\" data-v-324c3b57=\"\">\n<div class=\"caption\" data-v-324c3b57=\"\">\n<h4 class=\"title\" data-v-324c3b57=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6392568373112\" data-v-324c3b57=\"\">Iranian missiles strike Tel Aviv<\/a><\/h4>\n<p data-v-324c3b57=\"\">Iranian and Houthi missiles hit Tel Aviv, prompting President Donald Trump&#8217;s strong warning to Iran to make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" class=\"beyondwords-wrapper\">\n<p><span class=\"label-bg\">NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"speakable\">Two relatives of slain Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani living in Los Angeles were taken into custody by federal agents after Secretary of State <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/marco-rubio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Marco Rubio<\/a> revoked their green cards, officials said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">Hamideh Soleimani Afshar \u2014 identified as Soleimani\u2019s niece \u2014 and her daughter were arrested and are now being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a Saturday announcement from the State Department.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration says Afshar has been a supporter of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/world\/conflicts\/iran\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Iran\u2019s &#8220;totalitarian, terrorist&#8221; regime<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani,&#8221; Rubio wrote on X. &#8220;She is also an outspoken supporter of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/world\/conflicts\/iran\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Iranian regime<\/a> who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the &#8216;Great Satan.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/radical-us-mosques-honor-ayatollah-khameneis-martyrdom-memorial-services-eulogy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>RADICAL US MOSQUES HONOR IRAN&#8217;S SUPREME LEADER&#8217;S &#8216;MARTYRDOM&#8217; WITH MEMORIAL SERVICES, EULOGY: &#8216;OUR LEADER&#8217;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/343\/192\/marco-rubio-g7-foreign-ministers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/686\/384\/marco-rubio-g7-foreign-ministers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/672\/378\/marco-rubio-g7-foreign-ministers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1344\/756\/marco-rubio-g7-foreign-ministers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/931\/523\/marco-rubio-g7-foreign-ministers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1862\/1046\/marco-rubio-g7-foreign-ministers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/720\/405\/marco-rubio-g7-foreign-ministers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1440\/810\/marco-rubio-g7-foreign-ministers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1200\/675\/marco-rubio-g7-foreign-ministers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Marco Rubio standing at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Cernay-la-Ville, France\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends the G7 Foreign Ministers&#8217; Meeting at the Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay in Cernay-la-Ville, France, on March 27, 2026.<\/span> <span>(Thomas Trutschel\/Photothek)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter&#8217;s legal status and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States,&#8221; Rubio wrote Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>In January 2020, a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad killed Soleimani during President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s first term in office.<\/p>\n<p>While living in the U.S., Afshar &#8220;promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the &#8216;Great Satan,&#8217; and voiced her unflinching support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/world\/terrorism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">terrorist organization<\/a>,&#8221; the State Department said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;[Afshar]\u00a0pushed\u00a0this propaganda for Iran\u2019s\u00a0terrorist\u00a0regime\u00a0while\u00a0enjoying a\u00a0lavish\u00a0lifestyle\u00a0in\u00a0Los\u00a0Angeles, as attested to by\u00a0her frequent posting on her\u00a0recently deleted\u00a0Instagram account,&#8221; the department said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/iran-promises-harsh-retaliation-after-us-airstrike-kills-iranian-gen-qassem-soleimani\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IRAN VOWS &#8216;HARSH RETALIATION&#8217; AFTER US AIRSTRIKE KILLS IRANIAN GEN. QASSEM SOLEIMANI<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/343\/192\/GettyImages-607574930.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/686\/384\/GettyImages-607574930.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/672\/378\/GettyImages-607574930.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1344\/756\/GettyImages-607574930.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/931\/523\/GettyImages-607574930.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1862\/1046\/GettyImages-607574930.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/720\/405\/GettyImages-607574930.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1440\/810\/GettyImages-607574930.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1200\/675\/GettyImages-607574930.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani attending a meeting in Tehran\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (C) attends Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei&#8217;s (not seen) meeting with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Tehran, Iran on Sept. 18, 2016.<\/span> <span>(Press Office of Iranian Supreme Leader\/Anadolu Agency\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>According to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE officers arrested Afshar and her daughter on Friday in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>DHS said Afshar entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in June 2015, was granted asylum in 2019, and became a green card holder in 2021 under the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In July 2025, she filed a naturalization application where she disclosed, she traveled to Iran at least four times\u00a0since being issued a green card. Her trips to Iran illustrate her asylum claims were fraudulent,&#8221; a DHS spokesperson told Fox News.<\/p>\n<p>Her daughter entered the U.S. on a student visa in July 2015, was granted asylum in 2019, and became a green card holder in 2023, according to DHS.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is a privilege to be granted green card to live in the United States of America,&#8221; the spokesperson added. &#8220;If we have reason to believe a green card holder poses a threat to the U.S., the green card will be revoked.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/former-iranian-minister-praises-trump-assassination-fatwa-daughter-lives-new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>FORMER IRANIAN MINISTER PRAISES TRUMP ASSASSINATION FATWA AS DAUGHTER LIVES IN NEW YORK<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/343\/192\/us-ice-dhs-hq.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/686\/384\/us-ice-dhs-hq.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/672\/378\/us-ice-dhs-hq.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1344\/756\/us-ice-dhs-hq.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/931\/523\/us-ice-dhs-hq.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1862\/1046\/us-ice-dhs-hq.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/720\/405\/us-ice-dhs-hq.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1440\/810\/us-ice-dhs-hq.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1200\/675\/us-ice-dhs-hq.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters building in Washington, D.C.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters are seen before a protest against the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student who the Trump administration is targeting for his association with anti-Israel campus protests, on April 14, 2025, in Washington, DC.<\/span> <span>(Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In addition to revoking Afshar and her daughter\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/immigration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lawful permanent resident status<\/a>, officials said Afshar\u2019s husband has been barred from entering the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, the State Department also terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani \u2014 the daughter of a former senior Iranian official \u2014 and her husband.<\/p>\n<p>Both are no longer in the U.S. and are barred from reentry.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Trump Administration will not\u00a0allow our country to become a home for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/terror\/counter-terrorism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">foreign nationals who support<\/a> anti-American terrorist regimes,&#8221; the announcement said.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department and ICE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital&#8217;s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Sophia Compton is a Writer at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Story tips can be sent to sophia.compton@fox.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/ice-arrests-relatives-slain-iranian-general-soleimani-living-us-rubio-revokes-green-cards\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iranian missiles strike Tel Aviv Iranian and Houthi missiles hit Tel Aviv, prompting President Donald Trump&#8217;s strong warning to Iran to make a deal and reopen&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}