81-year-old Iranian man freed after seven months in ICE detention
Sep 3, 2026·Location: Nashville, TN
Country of origin: Iran

Hasan Besharat, an 81-year-old Iranian immigrant who came to the U.S. legally on a student visa in 1974 and earned an engineering degree in Nashville, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in late February despite decades of compliance with an order of supervision. He was held at the CoreCivic-run West Tennessee Detention Center in Mason, where his attorney said his health declined; he is 81, weighs barely 100 pounds, and has high blood pressure. His legal team filed multiple petitions, including two writs of habeas corpus, and Tennessee State Sen. Raumesh Akbari and community members advocated for his release. Besharat, who has a U.S. citizen brother and two U.S. citizen sons, is scheduled to be released and reunited with his family.
Sources
- ‘Thrilled and ecstatic:’ ICE to release 81-year-old Iranian immigrant after months-long legal battle
actionnews5.com·Sep 3, 2026·archived copy
- fox13memphis.com
- WREG
- ONLY ON FOX13: 81-year-old Tennessee man detained by ICE after supervision order revoked
- fox13memphis.com
- Attorney fights for release of 81-year-old Iranian from TN ICE facility
Yahoo News·Apr 2, 2026
More incidents in Tennessee
- Son released after ICE traffic stop, mother still detained in AlabamaSep 24, 2026 · Sevierville, TN
- Chattanooga teen deported with family after ICE stop, says agents lied to themSep 16, 2026 · Chattanooga, TN
- ICE partnerships grow to 139 Tennessee agencies, though 11 sheriffs still not signed onSep 16, 2026 · Nashville, TN
- Mother deported after Memphis nightclub raid, four children left with grandmotherSep 15, 2026 · Memphis, TN
- Venezuelan mother of three detained by ICE in TennesseeSep 15, 2026 · TN
- Guatemalan man deported after Tennessee prison releaseSep 7, 2026 · Nashville, TN