Overview

• Ribvar Karimi served as a sniper in the Iranian Army from 2018 to 2021 and married Morgan Gardner within 90 days of entering on a K-1 fiancé visa.
• DHS confirmed he was detained for failing to file for adjustment of status after marriage, a requirement he missed amid his wife’s high-risk pregnancy complications.
• Gardner, now 31 weeks pregnant, warns that Karimi’s open support for President Trump and opposition to Iran’s regime heighten the risk of persecution if he is deported.
• Karimi was initially held at Etowah County before being transferred to an ICE facility in Louisiana, as confirmed during a brief phone call with his wife.
• DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the administration’s proactive arrests of individuals deemed potential security threats under current immigration enforcement policies.