Overview
- Reports on Thursday say the State Department has opened an active investigation into Trita Parsi that officials and reviewed documents say could lead to attempts to revoke his residency and deport him.
- Parsi is a Sweden-born analyst who was born in Iran, holds U.S. permanent residency, and co-founded the Quincy Institute and the National Iranian-American Council while serving as a frequent critic of U.S. and Israeli actions toward Iran.
- The initial reporting is based on unnamed U.S. officials and internal documents and requests for comment to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security had not been answered at the time of publication.
- Journalists and advocacy groups place the probe in a pattern of recent enforcement steps against people of Iranian background, including detentions and green-card revocations earlier this year that raised due-process concerns.
- If the government moves to revoke Parsi’s residency it would likely trigger legal fights over immigration rules and free speech, and Quincy has prepared to cover legal costs as the case develops.