Reza Zavvar, a green card holder and 40-year U.S. resident, was stopped by federal agents while walking his dog. Zavvar, 52, was arrested last June 28 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement just yards from his Maryland home. He is currently being held in a facility in Texas.
The man, like others before him, has thus become a victim of the mass deportation plan promoted by the Trump administration. In addition to people living in the country as illegal immigrants, ICE operations have also targeted immigrants with legal documents, including green cards and visas.
Zavvar came to the United States legally from Iran 40 years ago, when he was just a young boy, to pursue his studies: he was later joined by his family. He now faces deportation to Romania or Australia, for an old offense involving possession of marijuana, dating back to the 1990s.
His lawyer explained that the case was settled in October 2007, when Zavvar was granted a non-expulsion order to Iran, allowing him to remain in the U.S. and continue working legally.
His mother, Firouzeh Firouzabadi, recounted that in late June, minutes after Zavvar had gone out to walk his dog, Duke, strangers in uniforms showed up at his door with a leash in hand. “I was shaking,” the woman recounted. “My brother was behind me holding me, and a lot of questions were coming, but the first thing that came to my mind was that maybe a car hit him and he’s on the floor, that’s why they brought him, Duke to me. That was the first thing that hit me. It was hard.”
Zavvar’s family said the man was initially taken to a facility in Baltimore for questioning before being transferred to a detention center in Texas. “We don’t know why he was locked up in a facility hundreds of miles away with criminals,” his sister said.
His family members described him as a gentle giant, a devoted son, uncle and loving friend who recently moved to his mother’s home to care for his 94-year-old grandmother. “He’s everyone’s favorite bud. You know that guy that you can just rely on, trust on,” said his friend Bany Alavi.
“Zavvar had almost 20 years to self-deport and leave the U.S.”, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin explained, “The Trump administration will not ignore the rule of law.”
