IABA Expresses Legal Concerns Over Prolonged Detention of Iranian Asylum Seeker
The Iranian American Bar Association expresses deep concern about the prolonged detention of Melika Mohammadi Gazvar Olya, a 22-year-old Iranian asylum seeker who has been held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for over two years, including nearly 19 months under a final order of removal.
Ms. Olya fled Iran after facing physical violence and death threats for protesting mandatory hijab laws. Despite an asylum officer determining that she had a credible fear of returning to Iran, Ms. Olya’s applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Covention Against Torture were denied in July 2023. However, she remains detained at the El Paso Service Processing Center with no foreseeable removal to Iran, a country designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as “uncooperative” in repatriation cases.
A habeas petition filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on March 13, 2025 asserts that Ms. Mohammadi Gazvar Olya’s detention violates the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. The petition asserts that her nearly 19-month detention post-removal order far exceeds the presumptively reasonable six-month period established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Zadvydas v. Davis.1 It further contends that ICE has failed to present evidence that her removal is likely in the foreseeable future, making her ongoing detention unlawful.
IABA supports and commends CCR’s efforts to uphold constitutional and statutory protections against indefinite detention, and to ensure U.S. compliance with obligations under domestic and international refugee and asylum laws.
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1Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001)