On Thursday, April 23, 2026, U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey joined a group of federal lawmakers in urging the Trump administration to immediately institute protections for Iranian nationals living in the United States who cannot safely return to Iran.
In a letter addressed to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph B. Edlow, the lawmakers called on the administration to pause deportation flights to Iran and designate Iranians in the United States for temporary protection, such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).
“The Administration must not forcibly return Iranian families in the United States to Iran — where they face the dual threat of the regime’s humanitarian abuses and dangers a resumption of the war poses,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers also urged the administration to resume processing immigration benefits for Iranian nationals and expedite work authorization documents. They wrote that recent USCIS policy changes have prevented routine processing of immigration benefits for people born in or holding citizenship from Iran and other travel-ban countries.
According to the letter, nearly 12,000 Iranian international students are living and studying in the United States, while an estimated 2,500 Iranians face the threat of removal after the administration “reached a deal with the Islamic Republic regime last year to coordinate the deportation of Iranian migrants.” The lawmakers said TPS or DED “are humanitarian tools” that would protect Iranians “from the threats posed by the regime’s internal repression and the U.S. military operations inside Iran.”
The letter asks the administration to respond in writing by May 6, 2026, to questions about deportation flights, possible TPS or DED protections, travel-ban restrictions, paused immigration applications and work authorization policies.
The letter was signed by Markey, U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, Christopher Coons, Alex Padilla, Jacky Rosen, Adam Schiff, Chris Van Hollen, Peter Welch and Ron Wyden, and several House members including Seth Moulton.
