Iranian Christian refugees deported from US granted extension in Panama

Artemis Ghasemzadeh | International Christian Concern

By Anugrah Kumar - Posted at The Christian Post:

Last month, U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., the first Iranian American elected to Congress, introduced new legislation called the Artemis Act, named after Ghasemzadeh.

Eleven Iranian Christian converts who were deported from the United States earlier this year, including 27-year-old Artemis Ghasemzadeh, have reportedly received a six-month extension to remain in Panama on humanitarian visas.

The Panamanian authorities granted the extension after their two-month reprieve expired Saturday, reports the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern.

Ghasemzadeh is currently staying in a hotel in Panama City with two Iranian Christian families who also fled religious persecution in Iran.

Before the latest extension, the group of converts had initially been given just 30 days to stay in Panama, then a two-month humanitarian visa.

Ghasemzadeh told ICC they now have until December to find permanent refuge in a third country.

Ghasemzadeh and her brother Shahin crossed into the U.S. illegally from Mexico in late December 2024, seeking asylum. They were detained for five days in San Diego and then separated. She was deported to Panama, while Shahin was transferred to a detention facility in Houston, where he remains awaiting his immigration hearing.

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See also:

• Afghan Christian refugees facing deportation still in limbo (The Christian Post)