Woman Suffers Medical Emergency While Being Detained by ICE Agents
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
An Iranian woman experienced a medical emergency while being detained by masked immigration agents outside her Los Angeles home.
During the operation on June 24, the woman appeared to suffer a severe panic attack after witnessing her husband's arrest by Border Patrol agents, according to NBC4 Los Angeles. In distress, she called her pastor, Ara Torosian, for help.
"In one moment, I felt that I'm in the street of Tehran, under fear, under dictatorship," said Torosian, a pastor at Cornerstone Church in West Los Angeles.
In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security said: "Agents immediately contacted EMS and escorted her to the hospital. Agent presence at the hospital was solely to guard the subject receiving medical care—a standard procedure when an individual in the country illegally requires medical attention."
The woman has since been discharged from hospital and remains in custody.
Newsweek has contacted DHS by email and the pastor via Instagram for comment.
An Iranian woman experienced a medical emergency while being detained by masked immigration agents outside her home.
An Iranian woman experienced a medical emergency while being detained by masked immigration agents outside her home.
Ara Torosian
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump's immigration enforcers are facing intense scrutiny as the Republican-led administration carries out plans to remove millions of migrants without legal status as part of a mass deportation policy.
The raids - some of which have been viewed as heavy handed - have prompted nationwide protests.
What To Know
Torosian told NBC4 Los Angeles that federal agents detained several members of his congregation on Tuesday, including the woman's partner.
The names of those arrested have not been disclosed.
The pastor said he had decided to cancel church services because many of his congregation were from the Iranian community and were now feeling afraid.
"With lots of pain, I called them and said, 'Please don't come to the church,'" said Torosian. "I will miss them, and hopefully I can hug them and love them and preach for them again."
Torosian said the couple are asylum seekers who left Iran, partly in fear of facing persecution due to their Christianity.
However, DHS said that during a targeted enforcement operation in Los Angeles, Border Patrol agents apprehended two Iranian nationals who were unlawfully present in the U.S. and had been flagged as subjects of national security interest.
Footage shared on Instagram shows the woman screaming and kicking her legs as she is being detained by federal agents.
The pastor told NBC4 Los Angeles the agents said they had a warrant to detain the couple, although they did not show this to him. He said the couple had no criminal record and had been attending his church for more than a year.
Torosian also told the outlet that five members of his congregation had been detained by federal agents this week, including a family with a 3-year-old daughter.
Iranian nationals in the U.S. have come under increased attention following President Trump's recent strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) New York field office director told Newsweek that all Americans were at risk from Iranian sleeper cells.
What People Are Saying
Ara Torosian wrote in a social media post: "As an Iranian pastor at Cornerstone Church West LA, I watched in pain today as women—who fled Iran's dictatorship for freedom—were arrested outside their own home here in Los Angeles. They came seeking refuge, not another nightmare. This is not the justice they hoped for."
Retired ICE agent Tom Decker told Newsweek: "Everyone in the United States are at risk by Iranian sleeper cells because of sanctuary cities."
What Happens Next
Both the woman and her husband are now in the custody of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), pending removal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
The biggest losers in the bombing of Iran? The Iranian people.
Under the grip of this regime for the past 46 years, mismanagement and corruption have deepened societal cleavages. Iran's Advertisement One of the paradoxes of governments that rely on coercion is that they are often frightened of their own people. In Iran, that fear has been amplified in the aftermath of the regime's evident vulnerability and incompetence in the face of its foremost adversaries' bombardment. The conflict has decimated the top echelons of the security services, killing as many as 14 generals. Israel has also attacked paramilitary and intelligence installations critical to the coercive apparatus of the state. Advertisement But today, they are too traumatized to revolt. And the Islamic Republic's multilayered elite structure has already generated replacements for the cadres eliminated in the Israeli strikes. The strikes have intensified the apprehensions of Iran's leaders toward their disillusioned citizenry. Just as in the aftermath of previous security crises, such a series of 1981 terrorist attacks against the regime or the 1988 cease-fire with Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, Tehran is responding to external threats with an internal crackdown. The regime is already engaging in mass arrests and show trials are sure to follow. The masses and public figures are enjoined to support the regime. In the name of rooting out the internal collaborators who enabled Israel's devastating initial attacks, scores will be settled and revenge taken. Iran's repressive political atmosphere will become even more stifling. An insecure regime looking to reestablish its deterrent posture is unlikely to relent anytime soon. For the past two decades, the United States has imposed crippling sanctions on Iran primarily in the name of arms control. The sanctions have debilitated Iran's economy, precipitating inflation, currency crisis, and unemployment. Throughout the tortuous path of talks with Iran, Washington and its international partners sought to utilize the sanctions as a tool to persuade Iran to concede core aspects of its nuclear program. In practice, the proposition of sanctions relief has always proven less compelling in advancing diplomatic solutions, especially for a target with as much experience with this tool as Tehran. Its leaders are all too aware that the US measures that severed Iran's ties to the international financial system have a peculiar afterlife, as jittery banks and businesses tend to steer clear long after their expiration. Advertisement Now, the relative success of the strikes on Iran have upended the central logic of international diplomacy around the Iranian nuclear challenge. The world now has another path to disarming Tehran — Israeli and American military action. The strategy of restraining Iran's nuclear advances by offering economic incentives in exchange for compliance with its arms control obligations will now be eclipsed by a more potent tool — additional attacks. A regime humiliated and antagonized by bombardment is likely to double down on reestablishing deterrence through its familiar tools of terror and covert nuclear investments. Meanwhile, the cost of sanctions will continue to be borne by ordinary Iranians. Iran's economy will continue to be hollowed out, the aspirations of another generation crushed, and a once proud and prosperous nation sinking further into impoverishment and isolation. Today, the Iranian people are caught between cruel rulers and an indifferent international community. The Islamic Republic endures and will continue to wage its struggle against the West. Anti-Americanism is core to the regime's identity. As Iranian leaders seek to reconstitute the nuclear program covertly, it's likely that new coercive measures will be deployed against Iran as Western spymasters will likely catch the regime red-handed. Military force is now the instrument of arms control. Advertisement In the midst of all this stand the Iranian people, abused and alone. Peace and security in the Middle East will not be possible until they have a meaningful say in their nation's destiny.
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Trump administration exploring $30 billion civilian nuclear deal for Iran
The Trump administration in recent days has explored possible economic incentives for Iran in return for the regime halting uranium enrichment, including releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets, according to three sources familiar with the discussions. The tentative proposal would also allow Iran to receive assistance from regional countries to enable Tehran to build a civilian nuclear program, granting Tehran access to as much as $30 billion. The proposal is one of many ideas under consideration by the administration, the sources said. The details of the administration's discussions were first reported by CNN. The potential deal would mark a major reversal in policy for President Trump, who pulled the U.S. out of the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran in 2018 arguing in part that the sanctions relief and unfreezing of Iranian assets had provided a "lifeline of cash" to the Iranian regime to continue its malign activities. Still, it is not immediately clear if the financial proposal or any negotiations between the U.S. and Iran will move forward. In a Truth Social post Friday night, Trump said he "never heard of this ridiculous idea," adding that it was "just another HOAX put out by the Fake News." Earlier Friday, Trump threatened to drop any possible sanctions relief for Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared victory in the war against Israel and downplayed the significance of U.S. attacks on their nuclear sites. "Why would the so-called 'Supreme Leader,' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, of the war torn Country of Iran, say so blatantly and foolishly that he won the War with Israel, when he knows his statement is a lie?" Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social, adding. "During the last few days, I was working on the possible removal of sanctions, and other things, which would have given a much better chance to Iran at a full, fast, and complete recovery — The sanctions are BITING! But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust." In a pre-recorded speech on Iranian state TV on Thursday, Khamenei said: "The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America's face." He added: "This action can be repeated in the future." But later on Friday, Trump insisted the Iranians still wanted to meet with him to discuss possible sanctions relief. "They do want to meet me, and we'll do that quickly. We're going to do it quickly," Trump told reporters during a White House meeting with the foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda. "Don't you think we have sanctions on there that they can't do anything? Wouldn't you think that they want to meet me? I mean, they're not stupid people."
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Thousands mourn top Iranian military commanders and scientists killed in Israeli strikes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Thousands of mourners lined the streets of downtown Tehran on Saturday for the funeral of the head of the Revolutionary Guard and other top commanders and nuclear scientists killed during a 12-day war with Israel. The caskets of Guard's chief Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard's ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh and others were driven on trucks along the capital's Azadi Street as people in the crowds chanted: 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel.' Salami and Hajizadeh were both killed on the first day of the war, June 13, as Israel launched a war it said meant to destroy Iran's nuclear program, specifically targeting military commanders, scientists and nuclear facilities. There was no immediate sign of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the state broadcast of the funeral. Khamenei, who has not made a public appearance since before the outbreak of the war, has in past funerals held prayers for fallen commanders over their caskets before the open ceremonies, later aired on state television. Over 12 days before a ceasefire was declared on Tuesday, Israel claimed it killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites. More than 1,000 people were killed, including at least 417 civilians, according to the Washington-based Human Rights Activists group. Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people. Saturday's ceremonies were the first public funerals for top commanders since the ceasefire, and Iranian state television reported that they were for 60 people in total, including four women and four children. Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. But Israel views it as an existential threat and said its military campaign was necessary to prevent Iran from building an atomic weapon. Khamenei's last public appearance was June 11, two days before hostilities with Israel broke out, when he met with Iranian parliamentarians. On Thursday, however, he released a pre-recorded video, in his first message since the end of the war, filled with warnings and threats directed toward the United States and Israel, the Islamic Republic's longtime adversaries. The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, Rafael Grossi, has characterized the damage done by American bunker-buster bombs to Iran's Fordo nuclear site, which was built into a mountain, as 'very, very, very considerable.'
