Tommy Pigott cites confidentiality in response to the family's status termination
Tommy PigottState Department spokesperson responding to the BBC
Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesperson, said in a statement reported by the BBC that the department does not divulge protected, sensitive, or classified information pertaining to the termination of legal status of foreign nationals. Maria Kari, an attorney for the family, told the BBC that the government had not presented evidence supporting its allegations.
“does not divulge protected, sensitive, or classified information pertaining to the termination of legal status of foreign nationals”
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
Independent reporting that presents the government and legal-team positions. It supports attribution of the quotations, not resolution of the underlying legal dispute.
Before the quotation
The BBC noted that Rubio's announcement did not specify individual wrongdoing or a national-security threat by Hashemi or Tahmasebi.
After the quotation
Kari told the BBC that the government had not presented evidence supporting its allegations. The report was published August 19; the exact statement time was not given.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is whether ICE detained the family for what Eissa Hashemi's mother did. Pigott says the State Department does not divulge protected, sensitive, or classified information pertaining to the termination of legal status of foreign nationals, which declines to explain the basis for the family's status termination, so we labeled it Explicitly declines. The closest competing label is Defended or excused, because the statement also asserts the government's authority to terminate status; the quoted passage refuses to disclose rather than arguing that the action was justified, so it loses.
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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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The Dispute Index. "Tommy Pigott cites confidentiality in response to the family's status termination". First published: 2026-10-11. Last updated: 2026-10-11. https://disputeindex.com/events/5525-tommy-pigott-a-state-department-spokesperson-said-in