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An alleged ex-Iranian Army sniper, detained by ICE agents in Alabama, may now be forced to leave behind his pregnant wife as he faces deportation.
Ribvar Karimi was among a group of 11 Iranian nationals who were arrested over the weekend and accused of being in the country illegally, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The arrests came hours after President Donald Trump ordered a series of strikes against Iran.
Karimi “reportedly served as an Iranian Army sniper” between 2018 and 2021, the DHS said Tuesday.
Upon his arrest Sunday, the man was accused of having in his possession an Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card. He is currently being held in ICE custody, where the DHS said he will remain pending removal proceedings.
Karimi allegedly entered the U.S. in October last year on a K-1 visa, which is issued to a foreign national who is a fiancé or fiancée of a U.S. citizen. The document requires a couple to marry within 90 days of entry.
His wife, Morgan Karimi, said he came to the U.S. so the couple could get married.
The DHS claims that Karimi “never adjusted his status,” suggesting that the visa terms were broken because he either failed to apply for a green card or didn’t marry within the required timeframe. The agency did not provide further information.
Morgan Karimi, however, contests that she and Karimi did marry within the 90-day window and that her husband was mistakenly swept up in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The Blount County resident, who is 31 weeks pregnant, revealed she first met Karimi online in February 2019 while playing Call of Duty Mobile, according to a website dedicated to the couple’s wedding.
The couple was due to tie the knot on February 22 in Blountsville.
“He came to the U.S. LEGALLY on a K1 fiancé visa. We followed all the rules—got married within the 90-day window just like we were supposed to,” Morgan Karimi said of her husband in a Facebook plea. “We’ve done everything by the book.”
Morgan Karimi has asked for financial help from the local community to hire an immigration attorney “to fight for his freedom and keep our family together.”
In another Facebook post on Tuesday, Morgan shared a montage of photos of her husband sporting several items of clothes adorned with the star-spangled banner. One video appears to show Karimi running around, jubilantly, waving the American flag.
“There is no one who deserves to be here more than this man. He loves our country,” she wrote.
Morgan said she has managed to make contact with her husband in ICE custody, who said he is worried both about her and their unborn child.
Her Facebook page chronicles the couple’s relationship and their efforts to attain a visa for Karimi.
On April 18, Morgan shared a picture of an ultrasound scan of the couple’s baby.
On September 21 last year, she asked for recommendations on how the couple could make their wedding more affordable “because the visa process hasn’t been cheap.”
Three days later, Morgan shared that Karimi’s visa had “FINALLY been approved,” adding: “Let the wedding planning begin!”
According to screenshots shared on her Facebook profile, Karimi’s case was approved on January 3, 2023. His visa application was allegedly first received in September 2021, according to the social media post.
In a photo from August 2022, Karimi was photographed wearing a t-shirt clearly labeled with a black and white American flag on its chest. In May 2021, Morgan Karimi updated her Facebook status to say that she was engaged.
Following the near-dozen ICE arrests over the weekend, the DHS rallied behind their aggressive immigration raids, vying to get the “worst of the worst out.”
“Under Secretary Noem, DHS has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
“We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are.”
The Independent has contacted the DHS for more information.
