A lawsuit filed on Tuesday alleged that President Donald Trump's administration illegally shared confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government, a charge the US administration denied.

Lawyers from the left-leaning group Public Citizen Litigation Group represented the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit stated that the Trump administration adopted a policy last year of providing Iran with 'confidential information derived from immigration files of Iranian asylum seekers in the United States.'

The lawsuit added, 'Many of the asylum seekers are pro-democracy protesters, members of religious minorities such as evangelical Christians, or LGBTQ+ individuals seeking refuge in the United States due to serious risks they face in Iran.'

The lawsuit said the policy continued despite US strikes on Iran last year during the war between Israel and the Islamic Republic, Tehran's suppression of protesters, and the US-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said in a statement, 'These allegations that ICE shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are false.'

It added, 'ICE is committed to ensuring that illegally residing aliens are informed of their right to contact their consular representatives.'

ICE has been at the forefront of Trump's crackdown on immigration and deportations, widely condemned by human rights groups as a violation of freedom of expression and due process rights. Human rights groups also say this crackdown has created an unsafe environment in the United States, particularly for ethnic minorities, who have expressed concerns about racial discrimination.

Trump describes his policies as aimed at curbing illegal immigration and improving domestic security.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The lawsuit noted that Iranian detainees who met with an official at the Iranian Interests Section said the official was aware of their immigration cases, including details of their asylum applications.

Given the absence of an Iranian consulate in the United States, Iran's consular functions 'are carried out by the Iranian Interests Section within the Pakistani embassy,' according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that it seeks the appointment of an independent monitor to prevent any disclosure of information to Iran and to halt any information sharing with the Iranian government.