Federal officials argue that Mehrad Asadi Eidivand’s hunger strike puts his health at risk, and his lawyers argue that he should be mistakenly taken into custody and released immediately.
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A federal judge granted a request to allow immigration officials to force Iranian asylum seekers on a hunger strike while in custody in Arizona.
Mehrad Asadi Eidivand, who lived in the United States on a work permit, was arrested outside his Phoenix home in May and taken to a US Immigration Customs facility in Florence, Arizona. In protest of his detention, avid bodybuilder took the first hunger strike when he was diagnosed with acute kidney damage, court records say.
Asadi Eidivand soon began his second hunger string strike, leading officials on Monday to monitor the health of a federal judge, administer intravenous fluid and drugs, and insert a feeding tube into his nose without consent. US District Judge Stephen Logan admitted the request that day and writing Asady Ady Band was at risk of organ failure.
His lawyer, Rebecca Cheeves, condemned the government’s demands and continued detention of Asady Idiband as “authority abuse.” She said he was in unfair detention and pledged to fight detention in court. She also opposed the recent arrests of Asady Idiband’s brother and sister-in-law.
Hunger at immigration detention facilities made national headlines during President Donald Trump’s first term in office in 2019 when authorities forced groups to protest detention in El Paso, Texas. Public pressure, including the United Nations, has been underway, and court orders have demanded that the group’s military be stopped.
Asady Adyband’s hunger strike poses a threat to national security after the US bombs three Iranian nuclear sites, as Trump administration officials say they are “strongly wary” about the existence of Iranian citizens in the country.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced the arrests of 11 Iranian citizens who live illegally in the United States, including Melzado, a brother of Asadi Idiband.
The Department of Homeland Security said Mehrzad faces accusations of illegally owning firearms. Melzado’s wife, Lynette Valtanian, a US citizen, was also taken into custody and charged after being allegedly threatened to shoot an immigration officer if he entered the house. The couple’s lawyer could not be reached for comment.
Authorities say Asadi Eidivand’s health was declining
Asadi Eidivand missed 18 meals after declaring his intention to commence a second hunger strike on June 16, according to a government court filing. It added that Asady Ady Band was not consuming food or water and refused to work with medical staff in an attempt to examine him.
“He reports pain in his whole body, motion pit, dizziness, weakness and nausea,” Filing said. “He doesn’t sit down or support medical or custody staff and refuses to transfer to the hospital.”
Federal authorities said Asady Adyband is “at a point where immediate medical intervention is required to prevent further deterioration in his health and prevent serious medical complications.”
The proposed medical interventions will first include assessments of his health, including his vital signs, clinical status, and clinical laboratory analysis. Depending on the outcome, authorities may need to administer IV fluid, medication and nutrition via the nasal duct, the government’s submission said.
It added that he continues to refuse cooperation and that “soft suppression may be necessary to lock in the “Assadi Ady Band” to prevent injuries to Assadi Ady Band and medical staff.
Ice representatives and the Arizona federal prosecutor’s office did not reply to requests for comment.
In a status report filed in federal court on June 25, immigration officers said he had not been involuntarily surveillance or treatment of Asady Ady Band as he began eating food and following medical checkups. However, authorities said in court filings that he “does not say he has finished his hunger strike.”
“On the contrary, he explicitly stated that he was eating and drinking against his will,” the report said.
Read the documentation: Court filings to Mehrad Asadi eidivand
Lawyers condemn government claims
Asadi Eidivand’s lawyer, Cheaves described the government’s demands as “inhuman” and said she intends to fight his detention.
The immigration enforcement officer “will waste more time and government money than they admit that they are responsible for unlawfully arresting him and not releasing him,” she said.
By representing immigrant clients for more than a decade, Cheaves said he never saw a request to force detainees.
“They need to use some of their resources for Melad’s psychological counseling, because he has probably experienced a lot of trauma while in custody,” Cheaves said.
Asadi edivand fled Iran for fear of his life, family says
Asadi Eidivand enrolled in the US at California’s US-Mexico border in May 2022 and immediately demanded asylum, Vartanians told the Republic of Arizona before arresting him over the weekend.
She said Asadi Aidivan was a Christian and feared his life and so he fled Iran. “If he is sent back to Iran, he could be executed for his beliefs,” she said.
Asadi Eidivand was held for 90 days in 2022 and released on bonds. His family argues he has complied with all requirements since then, including his appearance in Texas state court in 2023 and the judge advised him to apply for a work permit.
After receiving his permission, Asadi Eidivand obtained his Arizona driver’s license and began working as an Uber driver. His next court date was scheduled for April 1, 2026 in Dallas.
However, on May 31, Phoenix ice officers took Asady Idiband into custody in his apartment.
The judge grants ice permission twice
Upon arriving at the Ice Facility in Florence, Asady Aidy Band took a starving strike, demanding that he be taken or released before a judge. A few days later he was hospitalized and diagnosed with acute kidney damage. At that point, the government sought a temporary restraining order for unwilling surveillance, hydration and supply.
The order was granted by a judge, but the government soon moved to dismiss it, according to court records that Asady Ady Band “declared the end of his hunger string and was eating consistently.”
He resumed his hunger strike on June 16 after he was not permitted to attend hearings in his immigration case, Cheves said. His sister-in-law was able to get the judge to schedule a hearing for his asylum claim in September, but she said he is suffering from his continued detention.
In an application on June 23, the government said Asadi Idiband’s “reason for his starving strike is his frustration that his immigration hearing was reset in September 2025.”
