Overview

• Mandonna Kashanian was arrested by ICE on June 22 while gardening outside her New Orleans home as part of intensified deportations of Iranian nationals.
• Her release followed a campaign of more than 100 letters from neighbors and behind-the-scenes advocacy by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise urging DHS to review her case.
• Kashanian first arrived in 1978 on a student visa and lived under a 1992 deportation order but remained in legal limbo by complying with regular immigration check-ins and maintaining a clean record.
• Scalise’s office and Kashanian’s attorney will use changes in asylum and residency laws to help her file new applications for legal status.
• Her case underscores disparities in immigration enforcement that favor those with political support and leaves many long-term residents vulnerable without similar advocacy.