'Bloodline punishment': Iranian family faces ongoing punitive ICE detention

A Los Angeles-based Iranian family has spent over 130 days in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention to date due to their relative’s political activity nearly 50 years ago. In a letter published in The Nation, Iranian academic Maryam Tahmasebi described the arrest and detention of her husband, Eissa Hashemi, their 16-year-old son and herself, as "bloodline punishment" as the three permanent residents were stripped of their green cards following an online campaign. Neither of the three family members has any criminal history. "The government had decided to punish my husband for being the son of a woman who was a translator for the Iranian hostage takers in 1979, before Eissa was even born," Tahmasebi wrote, referring to the 1979 crisis wherein 53 Americans were held captive by militant student groups in Tehran. Read more: 'Bloodline punishment': Iranian family faces ongoing punitive ICE detention Texas State Troopers prepare to disperse a crowd protesting ICE outside the South Texas Family Residential Center on 28 January 2026 in Dilley, Texas (Joel Angel Juarez / Getty Images via AFP)