Psalm "Sam" Behpoor, 42, manager of Pismo's Coastal Grill in Fresno, was detained by ICE on June 23, 2025, after reporting for a routine check-in, where he was separated from his attorney. He came to the U.S. from Iran as a toddler after his family fled the Iranian Revolution, and says he has had no trouble with the law since a non-aggravated burglary conviction at age 18, nearly 25 years earlier. He had filed paperwork to reinstate his green card and was held at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield without a scheduled hearing. His wife, Lera Mirakyan, said their 3-year-old son repeatedly asked for his father, and employer Dave Fansler called him "the best of the best." Community members raised more than $30,000 for his family, and Fresno councilmembers sent ICE a letter of support. Gov. Gavin Newsom pardoned Behpoor for the old offense in November 2025, and after new legal filings corrected errors in his case, he was released on bond after nine months in detention. "Seeing my wife and my child again was everything," Behpoor said, though further immigration hearings remain pending and he says he cannot legally be deported to Iran.