Professor detained by ICE for husband's mother's 1979 role
Maryam Tahmasebi, a Los Angeles college professor and permanent resident, says she and her family were detained over an online smear campaign tied to her mother-in-law's past.
Conversation activity · last 17 hours peak 2/30m
Summary, timeline and people extracted by Claude from 6 items across 4 sources · 2h ago. Quotes are verbatim.
Maryam Tahmasebi, a psychology professor at Los Angeles Pierce College with a valid green card and no criminal record, says ICE detained her, her husband (also a professor), and their high school-age son in April 2026 based on an online smear campaign. The government allegedly moved to revoke their green cards citing her husband's mother's role as a translator for Iranian hostage takers in 1979, decades before he was born. Tahmasebi characterizes this as "bloodline punishment" and calls the detention and family separation an injustice.
- Maryam Tahmasebi, a psychology professor with a valid green card and no criminal record, was detained by ICE along with her husband and teenage son in April 2026.
- The family was detained based on an online smear campaign that prompted ICE to attempt revoking their green cards without due process, citing her mother-in-law's role as a translator during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.
- Tahmasebi characterizes the detention as "bloodline punishment" for actions taken by a relative decades before her husband was born.
- The family was separated across two detention facilities in Texas and remains detained as of her August 2026 essay publication.
How it unfolded
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The article circulated on Mastodon with users tagging #AbolishICE and describing the case as horrific, connecting it to broader immigration enforcement practices.
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After over 120 days in detention, Tahmasebi published a first-person essay describing the detention as stemming from an online smear campaign tied to her mother-in-law's role as a translator during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis—an event that occurred before her husband was born.
“I was beyond shocked to realize that an online smear campaign without any merit or legal standing had convinced the US government to try to revoke our green cards overnight without due process or even telling us.”
Maryam Tahmasebi · Mastodon ↗ - 18 weeks quiet
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The day after her husband's detention, Tahmasebi was surrounded by DHS vehicles while dropping her son at school. Both were detained and transported overnight to Texas in conditions Tahmasebi describes as horrible.
“I had to watch my son, who is in high school and has been a legal resident of California for 12 years, be handcuffed.”
Maryam Tahmasebi · Mastodon ↗ -
Maryam Tahmasebi and her son were held at Dilley Immigration Processing Center; her husband was placed in South Texas Detention Center in Pearsall, separate from his family. Tahmasebi's request to reunite the family was denied.
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Eissa Hashemi, a professor in the Business Psychology department at The Chicago School, was detained by ICE while his wife was teaching a class. Tahmasebi discovered his location through phone tracking at an ICE center in downtown Los Angeles.
What people are saying verbatim
“My husband, son, and I have been locked up for months—despite being permanent residents with no criminal record. It is an unendurable, unending nightmare.”
Maryam Tahmasebi, Professor, detainee · The Nation ↗
“I was beyond shocked to realize that an online smear campaign without any merit or legal standing had convinced the US government to try to revoke our green cards overnight without due process or even telling us.”
Maryam Tahmasebi, Professor, detainee · The Nation ↗
“The government had decided to punish my husband for being the son of a woman who was a translator for the Iranian hostage takers in 1979, before Eissa was even born.”
Maryam Tahmasebi, Professor, detainee · The Nation ↗
“This is bloodline punishment. I was hoping that the United States of America, the country that I loved, would be different.”
Maryam Tahmasebi, Professor, detainee · The Nation ↗
“I had to watch my son, who is in high school and has been a legal resident of California for 12 years, be handcuffed.”
Maryam Tahmasebi, Professor, detainee · The Nation ↗
“Horrific.”
aregenberg@mastodon.online, Mastodon user · Mastodon ↗ · Aug 11, 5:51 PM
The conversation positions from the crowd, verbatim
The limited social media response reflects concern about the detention as an example of overreach, with users connecting it to broader ICE practices. The framing centers on the injustice of detaining permanent residents without criminal records and punishing individuals for family associations to historical events.
ICE detention of permanent residents without criminal records based on family history is unjust overreach.
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“Horrific.”
aregenberg@mastodon.online · Mastodon ↗ -
“One Woman's Message From the Hell of ICE Detention… # AbolishICE”
wm@mast.wmclark.com · Mastodon ↗