Rubio Nukes Green Cards, ICE Moves

(LibertySociety.com) – A family tied to one of the most infamous anti-American propaganda faces of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis just lost their U.S. green cards—and ICE moved in.

Quick Take

Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the lawful permanent resident status of three Iranian nationals living in Los Angeles and tied to Masoumeh Ebtekar, the hostage-crisis spokeswoman nicknamed “Screaming Mary.”
The family entered the U.S. on visas in 2014 and received green cards through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program in June 2016, during the Obama administration.
ICE detained the three this week (April 2026) and deportation proceedings are underway, according to multiple outlets reporting the same timeline and identities.
The case is part of a broader Trump administration push to revoke residency for relatives of Iranian regime figures, including earlier actions involving relatives of Qasem Soleimani and Ali Larijani.

Rubio revokes residency for Ebtekar’s son and family

Secretary of State Marco Rubio terminated the green card status of Seyed Eissa Hashemi, his wife Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son, according to reports citing the State Department and ICE actions in California. The three Iranian nationals had lived in Los Angeles for years, but were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending removal after the revocation. Rubio framed the action around national security and the message that America should not become a home for hostile-regime families.

Barack Obama Gave Green Cards to 'Screaming Mary's' Family. Marco Rubio Just Had Them Arrested. https://t.co/MEI1cEFujs

— Pog (@OSINT220) April 11, 2026

The case stands out because Hashemi is described as the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar—widely known in U.S. media coverage of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis as “Screaming Mary.” Ebtekar served as the English-speaking spokeswoman for the militants who seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans for 444 days. That history is central to Rubio’s justification, and it is also what makes the family’s prior admission and long-term residency politically explosive.

How the family entered the U.S. under Obama-era approvals

Reporting across multiple outlets says the family entered the United States on visas in 2014, then obtained lawful permanent resident status in June 2016 through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. That program—often called the “visa lottery”—has long been criticized by conservatives because it is not primarily skills-based and can raise vetting and identity-verification questions, depending on country conditions. The sources do not provide detailed documentation on the family’s original screening, leaving open key unanswered questions.

The timeline is politically charged for another reason: the green cards were issued in 2016, after other high-profile U.S.-Iran flashpoints, including an incident in which Iran’s Revolutionary Guard detained U.S. Navy sailors earlier that year. None of the cited coverage includes an Obama administration response or an explanation for why the family qualified and cleared vetting despite the public notoriety surrounding Ebtekar’s role during the hostage crisis.

Detentions signal broader enforcement against regime-linked relatives

The Hashemi detentions are not described as a one-off. Reports characterize the action as part of a wider enforcement pattern during President Trump’s second term, with Rubio using the State Department’s role in immigration and status determinations to target relatives of Iranian regime figures who have been living in the United States. The reports highlight Southern California as a recurring location, reflecting a broader reality: communities with large immigrant populations often become the focal point for major national security and immigration crackdowns.

Outlets also tie the current case to actions taken earlier in April 2026 involving Hamideh Afshar Soleimani—described as a niece of Qasem Soleimani—and her daughter, whose green cards were reportedly revoked before arrests in California. Another previously reported case involves Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani and her husband, described as having self-deported after status was revoked and being barred from the country. The available reporting does not include court filings or detailed evidence beyond the government actions described.

Why this story resonates in the “government failure” era

For conservative voters, the headline issue is competence: if high-profile ties to an anti-American propaganda figure were widely known, why did the family obtain visas and then green cards in the first place? For many liberals, the concern typically centers on due process and the potential for politicized enforcement. The coverage available so far is dominated by government statements and conservative-leaning framing, with limited independent expert analysis, which makes transparency and documentation especially important for public trust.

Barack Obama Gave Green Cards to 'Screaming Mary's' Family. Marco Rubio Just Had Them Arrested. https://t.co/rh6OJ6h8DT

— Kathleen O Dowd (@KathleenOD0ld) April 11, 2026

Politically, the episode fits a broader trend that frustrates Americans across party lines: the sense that powerful institutions can be slow to correct their own mistakes until a new administration forces a reversal. In practical terms, the immediate impact is narrow—three detainees and a deportation process—but the precedent is larger. It signals that the federal government can and will revisit prior immigration decisions when national security concerns are asserted, especially amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions.