Maryam Tahmasebi and Eissa Hashemi have been valued members of our community since coming to the United States in 2014. They are respected professors and educators who have spent more than a decade teaching, studying, raising their son, and building their lives in the United States as lawful permanent residents (green card holders).

On April 11, without warning, Maryam, Eissa, and their teenage son were detained by ICE. As of September 2026, they have now spent nearly 150 days in immigration detention, despite never having been charged with or convicted of a crime. During this time, the family has endured prolonged separation, tremendous uncertainty, and extraordinary financial and emotional strain. Their teenage son has spent months of his life in detention, away from his school, friends, and community.

We are a group of American friends and colleagues of Maryam and Eissa who have started this fundraiser on their behalf. We have known them personally for many years and can attest to their kind and gentle nature, their honesty and integrity, their dedication to their students and scholarship, and the care they show to the people around them.

Their detention has upended the lives they spent more than a decade building. It has also created a tremendous financial burden. Maryam and Eissa are working people, not people of wealth or power. While detained and unable to work, they continue to face ordinary financial obligations, including monthly rent and student loan payments, alongside substantial legal and detention-related expenses.

We created this fundraiser organically as friends and colleagues who wanted to help a family we love through an extraordinary crisis. Funds raised are being used to help cover legal representation and other urgent costs arising from their prolonged detention. The beneficiary of this fundraiser is a trusted friend to whom Maryam and Eissa have granted power of attorney.

Unfortunately, misinformation about Maryam and Eissa has circulated online. We know this family, and our support comes from our personal relationships with them and our firsthand knowledge of who they are. We will continue to stand beside them as they seek justice, safety, and freedom.

After nearly 150 days, this family remains in serious need of financial, social, and political support. Every contribution helps sustain them through an ordeal no family should have to endure. If you are unable to donate, sharing this fundraiser and helping others learn about their situation is also an important act of solidarity.

Thank you for standing with Maryam, Eissa, and their son. Your generosity, care, and solidarity mean more than we can express.

Description updated: Sept. 1, 2026