Studio City Man Fights for Wife Detained by ICE for 30 Days

STUDIO CITY, California – A Studio City man is desperately seeking answers after his wife was detained by federal immigration agents during an appointment in downtown Los Angeles a month ago.

Hoosang Aghdassi has posted fliers in his business, Elegant Balloons, pleading for his wife’s return. The fliers read, “Bring Her Home. My wife was taken by ICE. Our family is broken, but our love is unshaken. We need her back.”

Aghdassi’s wife, 55-year-old Sharareh Moghadam, was called for what she believed was a ceremony to celebrate passing her U.S. citizenship test in early August. Instead, she was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and he hasn’t been able to see her since.

“I know this is not fair, I know it’s not fair… and she didn’t do nothing wrong,” Aghdassi said. “She didn’t kill anyone, she didn’t rob the bank, she didn’t do nothing. She doesn’t have a parking ticket.”

Those close to the couple say they are inseparable. Aghdassi reports that Moghadam is suffering while in ICE custody at a detention center in Arizona. He said she has stopped taking insulin for her diabetes due to a negative reaction and seems lost during their conversations.

“One time she was talking to me, I feel she might suicide because she was so down,” he shared, expressing his concern. “Any conversation like that hurts me, because she desperately needs something.”

Aghdassi, who moved to the U.S. in 1977, noted that Moghadam followed him about a decade ago after facing persecution in Iran for being of the Bahai faith. He insists that she followed legal procedures to obtain a green card.

Since Moghadam’s detainment, nearly 100 people have visited Aghdassi’s balloon shop to sign a petition urging Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) to assist their cause. Although Moghadam has secured an attorney in Arizona, Aghdassi mentioned she plans to self-deport if she is not released within a month. He is prepared to leave the United States even though he does not want to return to Iran.

“I like my neighborhood. I like here. This is my country now,” Aghdassi stated. “I used to believe, pray, and now this situation happened, I lost my feeling about the prayer.”

CBS News Los Angeles has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for further information on Moghadam’s detainment, but has yet to receive a response.