The wife of a man detained by ICE in Alabama is refuting claims the Department of Homeland Security made Tuesday that his military past in Iran was justification for his arrest.

DHS issued a press release Tuesday stating it arrested 11 people originally from Iran over the weekend who officials claimed “were terrorists or violent extremists.”

“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,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

Ribvar Karimi was identified as one of the individuals detained after he was taken into custody on Sunday in Locust Fork. The DHS press release incorrectly identified the location as “Locust, Alabama.”

“Criminal illegal aliens arrested include an individual with admitted ties to Hezbollah, a known or suspected terrorist, and an alleged former sniper for the Iranian army,” the release stated.

DHS states that Ribvar served as a military sniper for the Iranian Army from 2018 to 2021 and at the time of his arrest 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,” the release stated.

Ribvar was detained months after he married his wife, Morgan Karimi, who is now weeks away from the birth of their child.

“I just wish that, if I could get anything out there about Ribvar, it would be that he loves our country,” Morgan said in a Facebook video in response to the DHS claims.

“He’s not a terrorist. He did do military service. He was a sniper. He did serve two years during this time. What they’re not telling anybody is he himself fought ISIS he never fought an American soldier.”

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Morgan Karimi says the talking points about his former military career are “exaggerated and far from the truth.”

In the video, Morgan said she and Ribvar voluntarily gave ICE his Iranian army identification card.

“Just to clear the fake news being from Iran, you are required to serve 2 years mandatory or you can’t get a passport to leave,” Morgan said. “All of this was turned into immigration during his visa process AND he passed a background check. This was NEVER hidden from anyone! I have all of the documents proving this.”

Ribvar, she wrote, was allowed into the country after more than a year of background checks. “He fought ISIS himself,” she wrote.

Morgan, who is 31-weeks pregnant, is now fighting for her husband’s release.

The arrests came the same weekend that the U.S. bombed two of Iran‘s uranium enrichment plants, an escalation among the two countries.