Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to deport a Tempe man whose attorney says he is under an active execution order in Iran and would almost certainly be killed if sent back. Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand, 41, has been held in federal custody since June at a border-region detention center, according to his lawyer. His legal team has asked immigration authorities to halt any removal while they fight to reopen his asylum case and secure an emergency stay. Family members and advocates say his physical and mental health have deteriorated during months behind bars.
Eidivand was arrested in June after Homeland Security Investigations agents showed up at the couple’s East Valley home. A federal grand jury later indicted him on a charge of being an alien in possession of a firearm, alleging agents found loaded guns during a search, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. Prosecutors say his wife, Linet Vartannivartanians, faces a separate federal charge for allegedly threatening to shoot an immigration officer. A sentencing date in the criminal case has not been announced.
Attorney: Execution order in Iran
Eidivand’s immigration attorney, Rebecca Cheaves, says Iranian authorities issued an order in 2010 requiring him to present himself for execution. She has filed a motion for a stay of removal and a motion to reopen his case with the Board of Immigration Appeals. Cheaves told the Phoenix New Times that the order was delivered to Eidivand’s family and that a previous attorney failed to show it to the immigration judge. “He would be killed if he were returned to Iran,” she said.
Held at an ICE facility near the border
ICE records list Eidivand as being held at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico, California, a contract detention center overseen by the agency’s San Diego field office. Public information on the facility notes that it is operated under contract and provides contact and visitation details for people held there.
Detention conditions and recent deaths
The Calexico center has come under scrutiny after recent in-custody deaths. Reporting and ICE data show that at least two detainees held at Imperial, Luis Beltrán Yánez-Cruz and Huabing Xie, died after being transferred out for medical care. Advocates and families say those deaths highlight long-running concerns about medical staffing and the handling of medical emergencies at ICE facilities near the southern border. Coverage of those cases is detailed by The Guardian and NBC Los Angeles.
Why advocates worry
Advocates point out that Eidivand’s case is unfolding amid a broader enforcement push. Reporting has indicated that a late-January deportation flight returned more than a dozen Iranians, a move rights groups warned could put people in danger once they land. At the same time, international coverage has documented an intense crackdown inside Iran that rights monitors and major outlets say has left thousands dead, deepening fears for dissidents or perceived opponents forced back to Tehran (Jerusalem Post; Washington Post).
Legal implications
The federal firearm charge against Eidivand carries significant penalties under U.S. law and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, which has outlined the allegations in its indictment. Separately, immigration authorities say he remains subject to a 2013 voluntary-departure and removal order that has been enforced by immigration judges and appeals panels in the past. His attorney has asked the Board of Immigration Appeals to reopen the immigration case and grant an emergency stay, arguing that prior counsel failed to present critical asylum evidence (Justia; Phoenix New Times)…