U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descended on a residence in the Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles on the evening of April 3, 2026, arresting Hamideh Soleimani Afshar — identified by U.S. officials as the niece of slain Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qasem Soleimani — and her daughter Sarinasadat Hosseiny. Both women had been living openly in Southern California as lawful permanent residents. By the time the sun set, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had revoked their green cards and placed them in ICE custody pending deportation.

The arrests sent shockwaves across social media and Capitol Hill, immediately becoming a flashpoint in the intensifying national debate over whether the U.S. is doing enough to remove individuals tied to adversarial regimes who reside on American soil while openly opposing American interests.

How they got here — and what officials say they did

Afshar originally entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2015. She was granted asylum in 2019 and received her green card in 2021. Her daughter Hosseiny had similarly obtained permanent residency. Both women resided in the Los Angeles area, where they maintained what officials and press reports describe as a conspicuously high-end lifestyle — international travel, luxury goods, and frequent appearances at upscale venues documented on now-deleted social media accounts.

According to the State Department, Afshar used those same platforms to spread Iranian regime propaganda, celebrate attacks on U.S. military personnel in the Middle East, and publicly refer to America as the “Great Satan” — all while enjoying freedoms and material comforts unavailable under the regime she championed. The department’s statement cited these activities as grounds for revocation of permanent residency status on national security grounds.

Secretary Rubio announced the decision on X, framing the revocations as a direct national security action. Afshar’s husband has additionally been barred from entering the United States. As of this writing, no criminal charges beyond the immigration action have been publicly filed.

Timeline of events

Social media erupts: calls for a broader crackdown

Within hours of the arrests becoming public, X erupted with commentary — the overwhelming majority demanding that the administration treat this case not as a one-off enforcement action but as a template for mass deportation of Iranian regime supporters across the country. Below is a cross-section of the most widely shared posts from the past 48 hours.

Embedded posts from X — click to view originals

The broader context: U.S.–Iran tensions at a boiling point

The arrests did not occur in a vacuum. They follow recent U.S. military operations in the region, including the successful recovery of American personnel from inside Iranian territory. Officials describe the removal of regime-affiliated individuals from U.S. soil as part of a direct counter-influence strategy — one that treats propaganda activity inside America as a national security threat equivalent to more overt forms of adversarial action.

Critics on the Iranian side have dismissed the operation as politically motivated and disputed the claimed familial connection to Qasem Soleimani. Some voices in the U.S. have also raised concerns about due process. Those dissenting views, however, have found little traction in the current climate, where the dominant public sentiment is that the administration acted too slowly — not too aggressively.

Faith & Freedom News will continue to follow this story as deportation proceedings advance and as the administration responds to growing public pressure for expanded enforcement against Iranian regime-affiliated residents.