Iranian Christian Convert Faces US Deportation, Risking Execution In Iran (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

WASHINGTON/TEHRAN (Worthy News) – A woman adopted as a toddler by an American war veteran from an Iranian orphanage in the 1970s is facing possible deportation from the United States to Iran, where she could face execution for converting from Islam to Christianity, sources confirmed Sunday.

If deported, she would return to the Islamic Republic at a time when Washington and Tehran appear to be moving closer to war amid stalled nuclear negotiations and increased U.S. military presence in the Middle East.

She is among thousands of international adoptees who were never granted U.S. citizenship due to what advocates describe as a legal gap between adoption and immigration law.

The 54-year-old woman, whose identity is being withheld because of her legal vulnerability, received a letter from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ordering her to appear before an immigration judge in California for removal proceedings.

She reportedly has no criminal record, works in corporate health care, pays taxes, and owns a home in California, Worthy News learned.

CITIZENSHIP GAP LEAVES ADOPTEE AT RISK

According to the letter cited by The Associated Press (AP) news agency, the woman is eligible for deportation because she overstayed her visa in March 1974, when she was four years old.

“I never imagined it would get to where it is today,” she said, warning that deportation as a Christian and the daughter of a U.S. Air Force officer could amount to a death sentence.

Her adoptive father, a former prisoner of war in Germany during World War II, later worked as a U.S. government contractor in Iran, she recalled.

He and his wife adopted her in 1972 when she was two years old. The family returned to the United States in 1973, and her adoption was finalized in 1975.

At the time, adoptive parents were required to separately naturalize foreign-born children — a step that was apparently never completed.

CHILD CITIZENSHIP ACT DID NOT APPLY

The U.S. Congress passed the Child Citizenship Act in 2000 to automatically grant citizenship to internationally adopted children, but it did not apply retroactively to those over 18 at the time. Those born before February 27, 1983, were excluded.

A judge has delayed her immigration hearing until next month and ruled she does not have to appear in person.

Her potential deportation has alarmed Christian advocacy groups, who warn that Iran remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for converts to Christianity.

According to the 2024 World Watch List published by advocacy group Open Doors, Iran ranks No. 9 globally among countries where Christians face the most severe persecution.

Iran has an estimated 800,000 to 1 million Christians, primarily historic Armenian and Assyrian communities recognized by the state.

IRAN AMONG WORST FOR CHRISTIAN CONVERTS

However, evangelical converts from Islam — whose numbers are difficult to verify — often face the harshest repression, Worthy News documented.

Converted Christians are frequently arrested, interrogated, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Some have faced capital punishment under charges such as “enmity against Allah.”

Iran has also faced mounting international condemnation over its crackdown on nationwide protests.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), Iranian authorities have acknowledged 3,117 deaths and approximately 3,000 arrests linked to the unrest.

Human rights organizations estimate that the number of those killed or detained could reach into the tens of thousands.

UN REPORT: ‘CHILDREN AMONG THOSE KILLED’

“The vast majority of those detained or killed are ordinary people, including children, from all provinces and diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as Afghan nationals, of which there are some 5 million living in Iran,” the OHCHR said in a statement reviewed by Worthy News.

The U.N. office said those affected have included lawyers representing protesters, medical professionals who treated the wounded, journalists, writers, artists, and human rights defenders.

Associated Press reporting has cited activist groups claiming more than 6,000 deaths during periods of unrest, though those figures have not been independently verified.

Earlier protests in 2022–2023 were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa (Jina) Amini after her detention by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating mandatory hijab rules.

Human rights groups documented hundreds killed during that earlier wave of unrest.

BIPARTISAN COALITION AGAINST LOOPHOLE

Security forces have been accused of using live ammunition, torture, coerced confessions, and arbitrary detentions. Iranian officials have denied wrongdoing and have described many demonstrators as “rioters” or “terrorists.”

Advocates say Christians, especially converts, are particularly vulnerable during political unrest, as authorities often accuse them of collaborating with Western governments.

A bipartisan U.S. coalition — ranging from evangelical Christian organizations to immigration advocacy groups — has long urged lawmakers to close the legal gap affecting older adoptees.

Hannah Daniel, formerly of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, called the reported case “un-American and unconscionable.”

The woman says she has contacted lawmakers and government agencies for years to correct her legal status. “It just baffles me that I could be sent to a country where I might die because of a clerical error,” she explained.

Latest Worthy News