Asylum seekers fleeing religious persecution should not be detained while their cases are heard. They should be free to access the legal representation and resources necessary to make as strong a case as possible. When they are denied that freedom, especially when the stakes are life and death, we as Christians have a duty to advocate on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

ICE began detaining Iranian asylum seekers after the bombing of Iran’s nuclear refinement facilities on June 22. Among them is Shabnam Maleki, a beloved member of the church I pastor in Colorado Springs. Detaining asylum seekers like Shabnam makes it much more difficult for them to access the representation and resources necessary to win their claims. For Shabnam, this is a matter of life and death.

Even as a little girl, she struggled with the teachings of Islam. She could not understand why Allah would imbue her with talents and abilities but forbid her to use them—the interpretation of Islamic law enforced by the Iranian regime. When she was twenty-one, Shabnam encountered a Bible verse in an English-language magazine in her dentist’s office. Intrigued, she began to ask questions, and eventually found her way to an underground church. She attended every Wednesday and soon became a Christian. 

Eventually, her father became suspicious and followed her to the underground church. He then beat her, forbade her to go back, and told her that if she ever mentioned Jesus or attended the church again, he would turn her and the church in to the government, and they would be killed.

In order to protect her friends, Shabnam stopped attending. She continued praying daily and tried to find Bible verses online. A few years later, she reunited with a member of the church and started going again.

Then, in May 2022, Shabnam’s company sent her to work on research at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS), which sponsored her visa. She was thrilled about the professional opportunity, and shortly after arriving, she was baptized at a local church. Shabnam told a friend in Iran about her upcoming baptism. Although this friend had seemed accommodating of her newfound faith, she told Shabnam’s father.

Her father notified the Iranian government about both his daughter’s conversion and the underground church. To her horror, Shabnam learned that the church was crushed: One man was killed, and a woman raped and killed. Her father disowned her and promised to kill her if it was the last thing he did.

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