On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the revocation of permanent residency for Seyed Eissa Hashemi, his wife Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son. The family is currently in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while awaiting deportation to Iran.
The decision was based on Hashemi's familial connection to his mother, Masoumeh Ebtekar, infamously known as "Screaming Mary." Ebtekar served as the English-speaking spokesperson for the Islamist students who seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
Rubio characterized Ebtekar as a mouthpiece for Islamic terrorists who subjected the hostages to beatings, starvation, and mock executions, asserting that her family should never have been allowed the privilege of residing in the United States, as reported by Fox News.
"Her family should never have been able to benefit from the extraordinary privilege of living in our country," Rubio expressed on his social media account on X.
The Hashemi family entered the United States in 2014 with visas issued by the Obama administration and secured permanent residency in June 2016 through the Diversity Visa Lottery Program.
Rubio explicitly criticized the Obama administration for facilitating their entry: "In 2014, the Obama administration granted visas to his son and family to enter the United States. In June 2016, the Obama administration awarded them legal permanent resident status via the Diversity Visa Program."
According to CBS News, Seyed Eissa Hashemi and Maryam Tahmasebi were employed as professors at The Chicago School in Los Angeles before their detention.
The April 11 detentions are part of a broader Trump administration initiative targeting individuals with connections to the Iranian regime.
On the same day, Rubio also revoked the immigration status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of former Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, and her husband Seyed Kalantar Motamedi, who were no longer in the country and are now banned from entry.
This Friday, ICE apprehended Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, a niece of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, along with her daughter in Los Angeles.
Soleimani, a commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, was killed in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad Airport on January 3, 2020.
The Diversity Visa Program, established in 1990 to grant 55,000 permanent residencies annually to citizens from countries with low immigration rates to the U.S., was suspended by Trump in December 2025 following a shooting at Brown University by an immigrant who had entered the country through this program.
Masoumeh Ebtekar, who was 19 years old during the embassy takeover, was chosen as a spokesperson due to her fluency in English, which she acquired during her childhood in Philadelphia while her father studied at the University of Pennsylvania. She later pursued a political career in Iran, eventually serving as Vice President for Women and Family Affairs.
"America can never become a haven for anti-American terrorists or their families, and under the Trump administration, it never will," Rubio declared in his statement.
Key Questions About the Deportation of Hashemi Family
Why was the Hashemi family deported from the United States?
The Hashemi family's deportation was ordered due to Seyed Eissa Hashemi's familial ties to Masoumeh Ebtekar, linked to the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran. Their residency was revoked as part of broader measures against individuals connected to the Iranian regime.
What role did the Obama administration play in the Hashemi family's immigration process?
The Obama administration issued visas to the Hashemi family in 2014 and granted them permanent residency in 2016 through the Diversity Visa Lottery Program.
Who is Masoumeh Ebtekar, and why is she significant?
Masoumeh Ebtekar, known as "Screaming Mary," was the spokesperson for the Islamist students during the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran. Her involvement has been a point of contention in discussions about U.S.-Iran relations.