Hassan Ahmad says ICE targeted Hashemi family, not individual conduct
Hassan AhmadImmigration lawyer and advocate quoted in reporting
Ahmad challenged the use of foreign-policy grounds as family-based rather than based on individual conduct.
“What struck me was this seemed to be the first time that the foreign policy ground was being used to target people based not on any conduct of theirs whatsoever, but based solely on family relationship.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did ICE Detain an Entire Family for What Eissa Hashemi’s Mother Did?
On April 11, 2026, the U.S. State Department said it had terminated the lawful permanent resident status of Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son, and that ICE had them in custody pending removal. Officials cited family ties and foreign-policy or national-security grounds; the family, its lawyers, and other commentators have disputed the action as family-based punishment. This case records those competing positions without deciding the legal validity of the action or the family’s current status.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Reporting source for competing lawyer and DHS statements. Quoted assertions remain attributed to their speakers.
Before the quotation
Ahmad spoke to NBC Los Angeles about the family’s detention and the legal theory involved.
After the quotation
His legal characterization is recorded as his attributed view and is not treated as a legal determination.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
In this same interview Ahmad goes beyond identifying the legal theory: he insists collective punishment must stop and criticizes the child’s confinement. Legal analysis does not erase substantive condemnation.
- Recorded on
- Published here
Corrections to this statement
These notices document reporting corrections, classification changes, and topic-label updates.
Classification correction
Correction to: Statement by Hassan Ahmad
- Previous classification
- Challenges the characterization. The statement contests the characterization and asserted legal basis of the action.
- Corrected classification
- Condemns. In this same interview Ahmad goes beyond identifying the legal theory: he insists collective punishment must stop and criticizes the child’s confinement. Legal analysis does not erase substantive condemnation.
We corrected the editorial classification of Hassan Ahmad's response about Family-based detention and prolonged confinement. In this same interview Ahmad goes beyond identifying the legal theory: he insists collective punishment must stop and criticizes the child’s confinement. Legal analysis does not erase substantive condemnation. This corrects our labeling, not a later change in the speaker's position.
This corrects an editorial classification.
Reporting source for competing lawyer and DHS statements. Quoted assertions remain attributed to their speakers.
More from this case
Read the full caseCurtis Morrison questions DHS about six months of family detention
“If what makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S., why have you detained Eissa Hashemi, his wife, and minor child in Texas now for 6 months?”Read statement
Nirav Sheth's campaign declines to comment on the Hashemi-Tahmasebi case
“My campaign generally does not comment on individual immigration cases without comprehensive information. ... Therefore, we will decline to comment further on this specific case.”Read statement
Tim Miller likens the Tahmasebi-Hashemi family's detention to internment camps
“we're doing internment camps again.”Read statement
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- Hassan Ahmad says ICE targeted Hashemi family, not individual conduct
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/363-ahmad-challenged-the-use-of-foreign-policy-grounds
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Hassan Ahmad says ICE targeted Hashemi family, not individual conduct". First published: 2026-09-10. Last updated: 2026-09-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/363-ahmad-challenged-the-use-of-foreign-policy-grounds