WASHINGTON, DC- Last weekend, agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested eleven Iranian nationals deemed to be in the country illegally. One of those arrested, according to a press release from the Department of Homeland Security, is allegedly a former sniper for the Iranian army.
The release read, in part:
“On June 22, ICE Atlanta arrested Ribvar Karimi in Locust, Alabama. Karimi reportedly served as an Iranian Army sniper from 2018 to 2021, and at the time of his arrest, in his possession, he had an Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card."
"He entered the U.S. on a K-1 visa, which is reserved for aliens engaged to be married to American citizens, in October 2024 under the Biden administration. Karimi never adjusted his status–a legal requirement–and is removable from the United States. He’s currently in ICE custody, where he’ll remain pending removal proceedings.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out–and we are. We don’t wait until a military operation to execute; we proactively deliver on President Trump’s mandate to secure the homeland.”
According to Karimi’s American wife, Morgan Gardner, ICE has gotten it wrong, as reported by The Daily Mail Australia.
Gardner met Karini while playing Call of Duty online. That friendship evolved into a long-distance relationship and ultimately into a marriage between Karimi, a former Iranian army sniper, and Gardner, an Alabama girl.
Gardner, who is seven months pregnant, did not deny that Karimi was an Iranian army sniper, but told The Daily Mail that he was “unfairly targeted.” She also said that any suggestion he is dangerous is “ridiculous,” while insisting he bears allegiance to his new country.
“I’m heartbroken. This man wears the American flag proudly on everything he owns. I know a lot of people have stereotypes about people from the Middle East, and that’s unfortunately what happened to him.”
Perhaps that is true, but history is rife with individuals who claimed allegiance to the United States while secretly bearing allegiance to their home country, in this case, Iran, which has repeatedly called for the destruction of the United States. Iran has been identified as the leading state sponsor of terror, and it has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans.
According to Gardner, Karimi admitted on his visa application that he’d been a member of the Iranian army and was forced to undergo additional vetting due to his country of origin and military service.
‘We never hid it from them. We gave him his military card in his interview. We gave them the card when they showed up to our house on Sunday. We thought it was best to be honest because we have nothing to hide.”
She also noted that military service is mandatory in Iran, while stating Karimi is Kurdish, a group which she says is typically persecuted by the Iranian government. Kurds tend to be Sunni Muslims in a country that is primarily Shia.
“He’s not a terrorist, he’s not part of a terrorist organization. He loves this country. He fought against ISIS.
“For goodness sake, his groom’s cake at our wedding was an American flag with bullets on it that says, ‘We the people.’ He was so happy for small freedoms, like being able to wear shorts, because even men can’t do that in Iran.”
Gardner said their mutual love for Call of Duty led to an online friendship that turned into private messaging.
“We were always laughing. We got to know each other’s hearts. Finally, I brought up that we should meet,” she continued.
She said they agreed to meet in Turkey and immediately bonded. She said Karimi suggested she move to Iran, but she told him he should move to America. He said that being from Iran, “That will never happen.” They were engaged less than three weeks later.
Gardner said she began exploring a fiancée visa, and it took three years to be approved. Several trips to Turkey followed. Finally, in October 2024, his K-1 visa was approved, and he moved to the United States. They were wed on January 18, and Gardner found she was pregnant shortly thereafter.
When ICE showed up last weekend, they said he was in the US illegally because he never filed additional paperwork proving the two had actually wed. Gardner said they were never given a deadline within which to submit the paperwork confirming compliance.
“He did confirm with me that there’s no deadline on getting that paperwork completed. He was probably picked up because of everything that happened in Iran over the weekend,” Gardner said.
Last weekend, the United States unleashed a series of bombing and missile attacks on Iranian targets to take out sites where the radical regime was working to enrich uranium to construct nuclear bombs. The military strike fulfilled President Trump’s promise that “Iran will never get a nuclear bomb.”
Gardner complained she has already spent her life’s savings on attorneys' fees, from $12,000 to get him into the US while expecting at least another $10,000 to get him released from ICE custody. Gardner is hoping to get him released before their baby shower this weekend.
Gardner said she was “disappointed as an American citizen.”
“I feel like this is just a huge misunderstanding.”
The ICE operation came as federal intelligence and law enforcement authorities warned that there could be “sleeper cells” inside the United States, allowed into the country due to the Biden administration’s open border policies.
Speaking on Fox Business, border czar Tom Homan called it the “biggest national security vulnerability” the US has ever seen.
“It’s a significant threat,” he told host Maria Bartiromo.
“The average under the Biden administration every single day was 1,800 known gotaways…these are people we knew came to the United States and entered illegally. We don’t know who they are, where they came from, [and] why they’re here, but they got away.”
Former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf agreed with Homan’s assessment.
“This is a real concern, and unfortunately, four years of the Biden administration will eventually have consequences,” Wolf said on “America’s Newsroom” this week.
“We’ll see if they are activated. We’ll see if they’re inspired,” Wolf told guest host Bill Melugin, speaking of Hezbollah and Hamas. “The FBI and local law enforcement–I know they’re doing everything that they can.”
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