SAN ANTONIO \u2013 The Rahimi family has spent roughly $30,000 in legal fees and immigration processes over the years in an effort for Brandi Rahimi to get her husband legal status in the United States.<\/p>\n
Brandi Rahimi\u2019s husband, Shahrokh, is from Iran and has been in the U.S. for over 20 years. They met around 18 years ago, and Brandi Rahimi said her husband entered the U.S. illegally for his safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis brother was involved in a political party in Iran, and the family believes that he was murdered by the government,\u201d Brandi Rahimi said. <\/p>\n
Shortly after she met Shahrokh Rahimi, she pushed him to begin the legal immigration process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when we went and said, you have to start a court case to see what you can do to get asylum,\u201d Brandi Rahimi said.<\/p>\n
After more than a year, Shahrokh Rahimi was granted withholding of removal to Iran. The withholding of removal means he has to find a third country outside of Iran and the United States to live in. However, she said while they searched for a third country\u2019s approval, he was allowed to be in the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of his withholding, he\u2019s been allowed to work,\u201d Brandi Rahimi said. \u201cHe can have a driver\u2019s license. \u2026 For his specific case (the withholding of removal) means that he proved that more than likely if he returns to Iran, he would be incarcerated or killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, finding a third country has been an uphill battle, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody wants Iranian people, nobody wants Middle Eastern people, they\u2019re all afraid,\u201d Brandi Rahimi said.<\/p>\n
In July, Shahrokh Rahimi was detained by ICE at his home just one day after Israel bombed Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey came to the house, I opened the door, they said, \u2018We have a removal order for your husband, we\u2019re taking him,\u2019\u201d Brandi Rahimi said.<\/p>\n
Shahrokh Rahimi has been held in detention facilities in Texas since then. KSAT spoke with him in a phone call.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you hear at the nighttime when they turn the light off, you can hear the people crying,\u201d Shahrokh Rahimi said. \u201cYou can hear the people crying, everybody under the blanket crying for their loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shahrokh Rahimi said he still has hope, but on Dec. 9, he was denied bond in a hearing that Brandi Rahimi said lasted less than 10 minutes. The entire process has cost them more than $30,000 and counting, and for the last five months, they have been without their main source of income as Shahrokh Rahimi sits and waits in ICE custody.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wrote letters to the White House, they weren\u2019t responded to,\u201d Brandi Rahimi said. \u201cWe wrote letters to our representative, and they were like, you know, \u2018We\u2019re sorry for your family but this is what\u2019s happening right now.\u201d<\/p>\n