My husband, Shahrokh, proposed in early 2009. We met two years earlier at Sarita’s Mexican Restaurant in San Antonio where he was working as a server. During one of my visits to the restaurant, I was reading a book in preparation for a trip I was taking to Washington, D.C., and we spoke for the first time when he asked me about Washington and why I was going.

After chatting for a while, he asked for my phone number so that he could take me on a date. I asked him for his number instead, telling him I would call after I returned. I kept my word, and we began dating shortly after.

We were married on Oct. 20, 2009, at the Justice of the Peace with family, friends and some co-workers present. I wore an off-white skirt suit, and he wore a brown dress shirt and pants. I had corsages ordered for the occasion instead of a bouquet.

After the ceremony, we went for lunch at a French restaurant and ate cake. It was one of the happiest days of my life. Our love story feels like a fairy tale. 

A dreamer, Shahrokh had visions of owning his own little restaurant. We purchased a small taco shop in San Antonio. It was a difficult and draining experience, but he loved it. Often working long hours, we spent every free moment we could together. 

We discussed marriage, and he let me know he was very scared to make the commitment due to his status. He felt he was a burden, living in constant fear of being taken away and did not want to weigh me down. He was constantly scared of people turning him into immigration and sending him back to Iran.

Then, in 2010, an immigration judge granted Shahrokh a form of immigration relief called “withholding of removal,” which means that the government could not deport him to Iran because he has established that he is more likely than not to be persecuted or tortured there. Instead, he was released with an order of supervision.

But our happily ever after came under attack on June 22, 2025, when my husband was taken from our home. Officers with the Department of Homeland Security came to the house, placed Shahrokh in handcuffs, and arrested him in front of our 12-year-old daughter and our neighbors. Since then, he has been incarcerated in three different immigration detention facilities.