Evangelical Pastor Urges Trump to End Deportation of Iranian Christians (Worthy News In-Depth)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
LOS ANGELES/TEHRAN (Worthy News) – An evangelical pastor who spent two years under house arrest in Iran for his Christian faith has urged U.S. President Donald J. Trump to halt the deportation of Iranian Christians, warning they could face imprisonment or even execution for abandoning Islam.
Ara Torosian, who now leads the Farsi-speaking congregation at Cornerstone Church in Los Angeles, California, also urged Trump to extend protection to other Christians facing similar threats.
Torosian said he endured persecution in Iran before fleeing the country more than a decade ago and being resettled in the United States as a refugee.
“As a Christian who smuggled Bibles into my home country of Iran, I became a target of the country’s Islamist regime, which imprisons and sometimes kills those who invite Muslims to convert,” he wrote in a Los Angeles Times newspaper commentary. “After living under house arrest for two years, I fled as a refugee and was ultimately resettled to the United States.”
“I experienced true religious freedom for the first time in my life in this country, of which I am now a proud, grateful citizen,” he added.
“That’s why I am shocked by the way my government is now treating my Iranian congregants, who have been detained by masked officers, separated from their families, and threatened with deportation to a country that would kill them for their Christian faith. What I’ve witnessed gives me flashbacks to Tehran — and I believe America must be better.”
FAMILIES TARGETED
Torosian said that in June, he was again “shocked” when masked federal immigration officials detained five members of his church, including a couple seeking asylum.
A viral video shared online shows one woman suffering a panic attack as officers arrest her husband on a street just blocks from the church. Torosian, alerted by the woman, ran to the scene, began filming, and shouted at the agents, “Why are you doing this?”
He said two families from his congregation were recently detained. One includes a couple and their 3-year-old daughter, who were apprehended during a court hearing on June 23 in downtown Los Angeles. “They are now all being held in a detention facility in South Texas,” he explained.
The second case involved a woman who, like Torosian, fled Iran due to her involvement in underground house churches. When she and her husband faced danger in Turkey, they were unable to access official U.S. resettlement routes. Instead, they traveled through South America, reached the U.S.-Mexico border, and lawfully entered the United States via CBP One, a cellphone application provided by the U.S. government to schedule port-of-entry asylum appointments.
“They found our church, where they could be baptized and publicly profess their faith in Jesus,” said Torosian. “They got legal help, work permits, and jobs. Their first asylum hearing was scheduled for September.”
But after Trump returned to office, “his administration both suspended all refugee resettlement and canceled humanitarian parole for those who had entered via the [cellphone application] CBP One — including Iranian Christians,” Torosian noted.
THREATENING LETTERS
Many parolees, he said, received threatening letters urging them to self-deport or face legal consequences, even though the notices also stated that those with pending asylum claims were technically exempt.
“That’s why I was so shocked to get a call from the woman in my congregation telling me her husband had been detained by masked immigration officers,” Torosian recalled. “I rushed to the scene. He was taken, then she was. I asked if they had a warrant — but if they did, they refused to show it.”
The woman reportedly suffered a panic attack, was briefly hospitalized, and then transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in California. Her husband is currently held in a Texas detention center.
Torosian emphasized that the threat is not just to these two families but an entire community.
“My community of Iranian Christians is terrified. Some have lost jobs because they’re afraid to leave home. Others lost their employment because their work permits, tied to their parole status, were abruptly canceled.”
He added: “I believe America is better than this. This behavior reminds me of the country I fled. Most Americans — and most evangelical Christians — do not support this. Many evangelicals voted for Trump because he promised to protect persecuted Christians, not deport them.”
MORAL DUTY
While many evangelicals support detention of violent offenders, Torosian pointed to polls indicating that only a minority feel the same about other immigrants, and that 7 in 10 evangelicals believe the U.S. has “a moral duty” to welcome refugees.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by support from English- and Spanish-speaking congregations, from believers nationwide, and from California evangelical leaders issuing biblically rooted statements of solidarity,” he noticed.
Torosian warned that recent legislation passed by Congress has increased funding for detaining and deporting immigrants.
He said the Trump administration has made clear that anyone in the country unlawfully — even those with previously legal status — could now face deportation.
The pastor cited a study by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity stating that 80 percent of those vulnerable to deportation are Christians.
“Some, like those in my church, could be killed if returned to their home countries,” he said. “I hope and pray Trump reconsiders these policies. Yes, go after those who are threats to public safety — but show mercy to those who fled persecution for their faith. Until then, I urge Congress to pass real reforms to stop these horrifying deportations.”
‘UNLAWFULLY PRESENT’
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the arrest of the Iranian asylum couple, saying both were “unlawfully present in the U.S.” and “flagged as subjects of national security interest.”
Worthy News has also learned that about two dozen Afghan Christian asylum seekers from the Church of the Apostles in Raleigh, North Carolina, received similar deportation notices. Congregation members are lobbying Congress, fearing these Afghan believers — like the Iranians — could face severe persecution or death if forced to return.
Evangelist Franklin Graham, who leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the charity Samaritan’s Purse and has ties to the White House, has also raised concerns in Washington. Earlier this year, he said he believes the issue “will be resolved.”
Still, numerous Iranian Christians have already been deported from the U.S. Eleven were sent to Panama, where they received six-month humanitarian visas valid until December, while they search for safe third-country resettlement, Worthy News documented.
In May, Representative Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat from Arizona and the first Iranian American elected to Congress, introduced legislation to halt expedited removals of asylum seekers fleeing nations designated as “Countries of Particular Concern” by the U.S. State Department or included on its “special watch list.”
Under the proposed bill, refugees from those countries — including Iran — would be entitled to full asylum hearings in immigration court before removal.
DEPORTATION CONTINUES
Despite growing criticism, the Trump administration’s deportation drive continues. DHS has ordered those who entered via the CBP One to leave the U.S., reversing a Biden-era policy that allowed migrants to schedule entry appointments.
According to DHS data, roughly 985,000 people used the app to enter the U.S.
U.S. officials claim that the previous Biden administration “abused parole authority” and that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has the complete discretion to revoke it.
“Canceling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect national security,” DHS said in a statement.
However, Christian advocates stress that Iran — designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” since 1999 — remains among the most dangerous nations for Christians.
The Islamic nation ranks 9th on the annual World Watch List of 50 countries where advocacy group Open Doors says Christians face the most severe persecution.
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