Asad Esmaeily, a 35-year-old Iranian political activist, was detained and tortured by Iranian authorities for organizing protests and distributing materials opposing the regime—officials fractured the bone above his eyebrow and subjected him to waterboarding. He fled Iran with his pregnant wife, Farzaneh Nazi, traveling through South and Central America and arriving at the U.S. border on March 20, 2025. Nazi was released on parole due to her pregnancy, but Esmaeily remained in ICE detention. His asylum claim was denied, and his case is being appealed through an immigration court system that has denied relief to hundreds of others.