On Sunday, two Iranian illegal immigrants residing in Colorado Springs were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Mahmoud Shafiei, 71, and Mehrdad Mehdipour, the arrestees, were among 11 Iranians who have been arrested by immigration officers since June 21.

According to a post on X from the department, Shafiei was ordered by a judge in 1987 to be removed from the United States. The post alleges that Shafiei has state and federal convictions for drug crimes, assault and child abuse. 

The post also states that Mehdipour encountered U.S. Border Patrol near Rio Grande Valley, Texas, in 2023, where he was slated for expedited removal. 

The post claims that the two men lived together in Colorado Springs.

Public records indicate that Shafiei lived at a residence on the west side of Colorado Springs near Old Colorado City. He appears to have lived previously in Aurora and Denver, going back to at least 1997. Shafiei was convicted of trafficking cocaine in Florida in 1984, and sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison. 

Public records for Mehdipour show him living near Garden of the Gods Road and Interstate 25 since December. He has no criminal record listed. 

Another DHS post states that the national deportation operation, orchestrated by Kristi Noem, targeted suspected terrorists. The posts states that one of the 11 arrestees has ties to suspected Iranian terrorist organization Hezbollah. A later post clarifies that one Iranian deportee who resided in Minnesota had alleged ties to Hezbollah.

Both Shafiei and Mehdipour are in ICE custody — the department has not confirmed which detention facility they are being held at. 

The Gazette reached out to DHS about the individuals and their status but did not receive an immediate response. 

The arrests of the Iranians from eight states came shortly after the Trump administration’s decision to support Israel by bombing Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday.