The federal government has imposed a sweeping freeze on immigration benefits — including green cards (e.g., NIW, etc.), OPT/STEM-OPT employment authorization, visas, and naturalization — for individuals from 19 designated countries, including Iran. This action has created immediate crisis and uncertainty for thousands of California residents who study, work, raise families, pay taxes, and contribute deeply to our state’s economy and culture.

We, the undersigned, call on Governor Gavin Newsom to take urgent and visible action against this discriminatory and nationality-based freeze.

Why This Matters to California?

California is home to the largest Iranian and Iranian-American community in the United States, with more than 140,000 Iranian-Americans in Los Angeles County alone, and tens of thousands more across the Bay Area, San Diego, Orange County, and Sacramento.

Iranian immigrants are among the most highly educated immigrant groups in the nation:

• Nearly 50% hold advanced degrees
• Over 60% work in STEM, healthcare, academia, and professional fields
• Students on OPT/STEM-OPT contribute $40,000–$70,000 per year in economic activity
• Iranian-founded companies support tens of thousands of California jobs

They are scientists, doctors, engineers, technologists, professors, business owners, students, parents — all contributing to California’s innovation engine, tax base, and community life.

What the Freeze Is Causing Right Now?

The federal order has thrown thousands of lives into chaos:

• Workers cannot renew work authorization
• Students face being forced to leave mid-degree
• Long-term residents cannot complete green card applications
• Naturalization ceremonies are being halted
• Families are suddenly at risk of separation
• Employers and universities are losing critical talent

This freeze is not based on individual merit or evidence. It is a broad, nationality-based restriction that undermines fundamental fairness and due process.

We are calling on Governor Newsom to:

• Publicly condemn the freeze and affirm California’s commitment to equal treatment and immigrant rights.
• Support or initiate legal challenges to stop nationality-based discrimination.
• Mobilize state-funded legal and immigrant support services for affected residents, students, and workers.
• Convene a California rapid-response task force with universities, employers, and community leaders.
• Show national leadership by advocating for a fair, evidence-based immigration process that evaluates individuals — not entire nationalities.

California’s strength comes from its diversity, its global talent, and its unwavering commitment to opportunity and justice. The Iranian-American community has been a vital part of this state’s economic, scientific, and cultural growth for decades.

This freeze threatens everything they — and many other immigrant groups — have built.

We call on Governor Newsom to stand with us, protect our community, and defend the values that define California.

Please sign and share this petition widely. Our voices are strongest together.