ICE Nabs Ali Shahrezaei In San Antonio, Marking Another High-Profile Iranian Arrest
Social media accounts for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Sunday that its San Antonio office had arrested Ali Shahrezaei, a 42-year-old Iranian citizen who apparently entered the United States illegally in October 2022.
Shahrezaei's arrest marks at least the second high-profile Iranian apprehended by federal authorities in Texas in recent weeks.
Last week, officials arrested Jamil Bahlouli, a previously deported Iranian man who reentered the U.S. illegally and allegedly skipped a scheduled immigration appointment. Bahlouli was said to have resisted arrest at his home in Austin and slammed the door on deportation officers. He had been convicted of illegal re-entry in Montana earlier this year and now faces up to four years in prison, according to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office Western District of Texas.
It is unknown exactly how many Iranians may be in the United States illegally.
Federal data shows a sharp uptick in Iranian nationals crossing into the United States illegally in recent years. Border Patrol apprehended 1,504 Iranians from fiscal years 2021 through 2024—nearly half of whom were later released into the country, according to a report from The Center Square. Releases increased year-over-year under the Biden administration, reportedly topping 448 in 2024 alone.
One federal agent told The Center Square that the data, obtained on condition of anonymity, do not include so-called 'gotaways'—foreign nationals who enter the U.S. illegally without being apprehended. That figure surpassed 2 million under then-President Biden.
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