Man Caught in Immigration Snag Is Freed From Custody

Iranian-born Masoud Khoshnevis, who spent more than two months in federal custody after he registered with immigration authorities in Los Angeles, was back in Anaheim Hills with his family Tuesday, having been released while his attorney appeals his immigration case.

Khoshnevis, 40, said he hated being held in “dehumanizing” conditions. But he harbors no malice toward the immigration agency or its officials, “because they were just doing their job.”

“The INS is part of America and I love America. I love my life here. I just think it was my bad luck. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.

He missed his wedding anniversary and Persian New Year. But the good news, he said, is that the San Diego construction company where he thought he had lost his job as a project manager has told him he can return to work Monday.

His wife, Pouran Ayoubi, a technician for an Orange County medical clinic, borrowed from friends and relatives to pay their mortgage and other bills. Their 17-year-old son, Amir, got a job at a fast-food restaurant to help with family finances.

In early February, Khoshnevis, like thousands of other Middle Eastern immigrants in the U.S., followed a federal order to register at immigration offices.

Most signed in and left, but Khoshnevis was detained because of a 1993 deportation proceeding settled against him without his knowledge while he was in Germany. It stemmed from what he and his attorney contend was a simple mix-up at a border checkpoint years ago.

Khoshnevis had a visa when he entered the United States on vacation. He visited Canada and reentered the U.S. but was told by an immigration officer that the visa was good for one visit. He was arrested, photographed, fingerprinted and released.

He returned to Germany, where he lived after seeking political asylum from fundamentalist Islamic rule in Iran. He said he had drifted away from the faith more than 20 years ago.

After he left the U.S., records show that the INS -- now the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration -- opened a deportation case without notifying him. In a reversal, immigration officials recently joined with Khoshnevis’ attorney in filing a court motion on his behalf.

“The hope is that the Board of Immigration Appeals will reopen Khoshnevis’ original deportation case and cancel the illegal order,” his attorney, David Ross, said. “We are confident we can get a successful decision.”

Ross described Khoshnevis as “a unique man,” who suffered while in Iran only to live in Germany and be subjected to a great amount of racial prejudice.

“He has enormous respect for the U.S. and great affinity because he feels that the U.S. gave him a new life,” Ross said.

Khoshnevis came to this country with only $10 and worked delivering pizza and driving a truck. He used his university education to gain an economic foothold and now earns a six-figure annual income with various construction firms.

He was university educated in Iran in economics, and accustomed to saying “Please,” “Yes, sir” and “Thank you.” But, he says, those pleasantries rubbed guards and fellow inmates the wrong way, especially coming from a 5-foot-6 detainee who weighs barely 150 pounds.

Khoshnevis was taken in handcuffs and chains from Los Angeles to a cell operated by Alhambra Police Department, where, he says, the showers didn’t work and the same meal -- chicken patty with macaroni, vegetables and milk -- was served at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

After he was transferred to a detention facility in San Diego County, he says, things got worse.

He finally became acculturated to prison lifestyle, he says, adopting a meaner countenance to gain respect among the inmates. He shaved his head, grew a goatee and used inmate slang.

“I would ask the guards, ‘Please, sir, may I have a razor to shave?’ and they wouldn’t give me one. No one paid me attention until I started talking their way.”

Khoshnevis thanked his son, with whom he shares a strong bond, for calling the media, elected officials and the governor’s office to seek help for his father. He credits his son’s effort with his eventual release.

“When we spoke recently, I asked my son, ‘Are you proud of me?’ He said, ‘Yes,’ and I thanked him for making all those calls. Then, I told him I’m proud of him.”