A US congresswoman of Iranian descent has introduced legislation named after an Iranian Christian covert to block expedited deportations to countries where they may face persecution.
The 'Artemis Act' unveiled on Tuesday honors Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a 27-year-old asylum seeker who was expelled to Panama by the Trump administration after entering the US via its southern border.
She was denied a legally mandated interview and placed on a military flight without notice, her attorney said.
“Artemis Ghasemzadeh was denied the due process afforded to asylum seekers by law, plain and simple,” Arizona Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari. “Returning to the Islamic Republic of Iran would mean immediate—potentially deadly—danger for her, both as a woman and a Christian convert.”
“People like Artemis who are fleeing religious persecution should not be subject to expedited removal. They deserve a chance to plead their case–that's what my bill will guarantee,” she wrote on X.
Ghasemzadeh fled Iran after members of her underground bible study group were arrested. She told Iran International she was misled about her transfer, held in a jungle detention camp in Panama, and forced to subsist on contaminated water and stale bread.
“The food just helps us stay full and not die,” she said at the time, using a shared phone before being cut off.
The proposed Artemis Act would prohibit deportations to any country listed by the US government as committing “particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” aiming to prevent removals like Ghasemzadeh’s.
Her lawyer has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights against both US and Panamanian authorities.
