Pastor films as masked federal agents arrest Iranian Christian asylum-seekers in LA
US Border Patrol agents detain two Iranian Christians, June 24, in Los Angeles. (Video screengrabs via Ara Torosian)
Two Iranian Christian asylum-seekers were arrested by masked federal agents in Los Angeles on June 24, days after a wider sweep by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeting Iranian nationals in the US in the wake of the recent conflict between the US and Iran.
In a three-minute video clip captured by their pastor and posted on Instagram, a couple can be seen flanked by agents wearing vests emblazoned with “border patrol federal agents.” As the husband is arrested, the wife can be seen convulsing on the ground in what the pastor, Ara Torosian, described as a panic attack.
The woman had called Torosian, hoping he might be able to intervene in the arrest, he said. The pastor told the agents the husband was an asylum-seeker as they carried out the arrest, to which one responded, “It doesn’t matter, sir, we’re just following orders, he’s got a warrant,” according to the video footage.
