U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has canceled the permission granted to several members of Qasem Soleimani’s family to live in the United States, and they are in custody pending deportation flights.
Soleimani was among the top officials of the Islamic regime until he was eliminated on the orders of President Donald Trump during his first term.
Now Rubio has issued a statement that his family members are being removed.
“Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States. Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the ‘Great Satan.’ This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter’s legal status and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States. The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” he said.
Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States.
Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 4, 2026
Marco Rubio just canceled the green card of the niece of assassinated Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.
Rubio confirmed she’s now sitting in ICE custody with her daughter. pic.twitter.com/6H2gI5ju8R https://t.co/f3ZtDTqyja
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 4, 2026
report at Just the News noted the State Department confirmed, “Last night, the niece and grand niece of deceased Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani were arrested by federal agents following Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s termination of their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As identified by both press reporting and her own social media commentary, Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran.”
State Department officials confirmed she has been promoting Iranian regime propaganda while living a life of luxury in the U.S.
Further, she “celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the ‘Great Satan,’ and voiced her unflinching support for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terror organization.”
Her husband also has been blocked from entering the U.S.
The Washington Examiner said the Iranians were arrested Friday night.
Afshar came to the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2015 and a judge in 2019 gave her asylum.
“In 2021, she became a green card holder under the Biden Administration,” Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “In July 2025, she filed a naturalization application where she disclosed she traveled to Iran at least four times since being issued a green card. Her trips to Iran illustrate her asylum claims were fraudulent.”
The report added, “Afshar’s daughter, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, also entered the U.S. in the summer of 2015 through a student visa and was granted asylum in 2019.”