Recently, an official announcement that has shaken authoritarian regimes worldwide was formally issued. On Saturday, the U.S. State Department released a statement declaring that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had officially revoked the green cards of two foreign nationals linked to Iran’s terrorist regime.
Immediately, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, the niece of Qasem Soleimani—who was previously killed by U.S. forces—and her daughter were arrested on the spot by federal agents. They are currently detained at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, awaiting deportation. Meanwhile, Afshar’s husband has been issued a ban on entering the United States.
This is far from an isolated incident; it signals a fundamental shift in how the U.S. treats hostile nations. The move has sent shockwaves to Chinese elites across the Pacific, who keep their families and vast wealth in the U.S., plunging them into unprecedented panic.
The double life of ‘Anti-American at work, American at home’ comes to an end
The State Department’s statement revealed a detail both ironic and all-too-familiar to Chinese observers.
The statement noted that while Afshar lived in the U.S., she led an extremely luxurious life in Los Angeles while actively promoting the Iranian regime’s propaganda on social media (Instagram). She openly praised attacks on U.S. military personnel, lauded Iran’s supreme leader, and, alongside the Iranian regime, denounced the U.S. as the “Great Satan,” unwaveringly supporting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, designated a terrorist organization.
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Such a deeply contradictory “double life” is painfully familiar to ordinary Chinese citizens. In today’s U.S., especially in Los Angeles and New York, there are many family members of Chinese Communist Party officials, second-generation reds, and offspring of officials. They drive Ferraris, live in multi-million-dollar mansions, and enjoy U.S. freedoms and rule of law. Yet on Weibo, WeChat, or overseas social platforms, they wave red flags, vilify America, glorify the CCP’s dictatorship, and sometimes act as agents for Chinese propaganda and united front operations.
In the past, American society, out of legal tolerance and political naïveté, often turned a blind eye to these enemy-state elites. Now, Rubio’s actions declare the end of that era: the U.S. will no longer tolerate anyone who enjoys American protection while championing regimes bent on destroying America.
The scope of accountability expands—it’s not just Soleimani
Anyone thinking this is a one-off targeting of Soleimani’s family is gravely mistaken.
The State Department’s statement also revealed another precedent: earlier this month, Rubio revoked the legal status of Ali Larijani’s daughter Aldeshir and her husband. Larijani, former secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in March. The couple has been expelled from the U.S. and permanently barred from reentry.
From daughters and sons-in-law to nieces and grandnieces, this signals that the U.S. has formally launched a “collective accountability” approach toward family members of hostile officials. The U.S. no longer limits itself to immediate family: if your assets are tainted with the blood of the enemy’s citizens, or if you support a hostile regime, whether you are a collateral relative or a spouse, your green card or citizenship is no longer a shield. Administrative measures can detain, freeze assets, and deport you at any time.
Ending the practice of harboring threats: why the US strikes now
Why is the U.S. taking a hard turn at this moment? The reason is simple: enormous security risks and heavy costs of war have made America fully aware of the evil nature of dictatorships, and determined not to “nurture tigers that will bite.”
For a long time, officials from many authoritarian regimes treated the U.S. as the safest “safe haven” and “money-laundering paradise.” They exploited their citizens ruthlessly at home while funneling wealth into the U.S. via legal loopholes. They shouted anti-American slogans at home while sending their wives, children, and even extended relatives to the U.S. for green cards and luxurious lifestyles.
By traditional Western legal logic, one person’s deeds are one person’s responsibility, and family members might not bear “collective” liability. Though Soleimani was eliminated by U.S. forces, his niece and grandniece might have seemed “legally” in the U.S. But America has woken up: the immense wealth they flaunted came from nothing but the blood and sweat of oppressed citizens.
According to a closed briefing by U.S. Defense Department officials to Congress, during the first six days of large-scale U.S. military operations against Iran, the military expenditure reached $11.3 billion. Think tanks estimate the daily cost of operations at $890 million. On the front lines, U.S. forces faced the downing of two aircraft and life-or-death challenges for crews.
On one side, U.S. taxpayers fund these operations and soldiers risk their lives to strike the evil axis; on the other, relatives of hostile leaders enjoy wealth in the U.S. This mocks U.S. law and indirectly supports hostile regimes economically. Leaving such threats on U.S. soil is a severe national security risk. Therefore, identifying and deporting enemy elites and seizing their assets is a necessary step to reduce U.S. national security risks.
The nightmare for CCP officials: wealth and offspring face total cleansing
Once Soleimani’s relatives were deported, the group most terrified were the CCP elite families across the Pacific.
It is well known that Chinese officials are the largest group transferring assets and family members to the U.S. If Soleimani’s family assets were just the tip of the iceberg, CCP officials’ hidden wealth in the U.S. is astronomical.
Rubio’s move strikes at the CCP’s core before any visit to China. It sends three powerful signals:
- The scope of accountability expands. Previously, sanctions were thought to affect only immediate family. The Soleimani case shows that even collateral relatives like nieces and grandnieces are included. Tricks to shield assets under extended family names are now nullified.
- Green cards and citizenship are no longer immunity. CCP elites once believed U.S. status protected them. Now, the U.S. government clearly states: if you are deemed a threat from a hostile nation or your funds are illegal, administrative action can strip your residency and send you to detention at any time.
- A powerful deterrent against CCP military action on Taiwan. Many fear conflict in the Taiwan Strait. This news reveals why the CCP hesitates: if war occurs, putting China and the U.S. in active hostility, the U.S. will immediately implement the “deportation and seizure” mode. Intelligence will identify all CCP officials’ family members in the U.S., cancel their green cards, deport them, and freeze or seize properties, trusts, and deposits to offset wartime costs.
The only way out: abandon the dark, seek the light
America’s naivety is gone. The days of “anti-American at work, American at home” are over.
The U.S. is rapidly patching legal loopholes and removing hostile elements from society. For CCP officials, this is a thunderous warning: your schemes to secure offspring and assets in the U.S. as a safety net are shattered.
If the CCP dares to act militarily against Taiwan, America will formally regard it as a hostile regime, triggering comprehensive cleansing of CCP elites’ overseas families. Any attempt at a “three-burrow rabbit” escape plan will be futile. The only path to survival for yourself and your family is to recognize the situation, cease wrongdoing, and fully sever ties with the CCP’s evil system.
(The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.)
