Popular Fresno restaurant manager detained by ICE for ‘stupid’ 25-year-old crime
A popular Fresno restaurant manager was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in June and remains in custody for a “stupid” crime he committed almost 25 years ago as a teen.
Psalm Behpoor, 42, said he’s a much different person than he was when he was arrested for burglary a few days after turning 18. He’s a family man now who had started to develop a third stream of income when he was detained by ICE on June 23.
Almost two months later, he is still in detention in Bakersfield, and is waiting for his court date. He spoke to The Bee on Monday in a phone interview.
“I’m not perfect. I’m not saying that. I just don’t deserve to be deported,” Behpoor said. “I want to come back and be part of the community. I see myself as an American. I said the Pledge of Allegiance. This is my country, and I’m proud to be here.”
The Trump Administration has taken a harder stance on immigrants in the country, causing significant uproar earlier this year in the San Joaquin Valley when U.S. Border Patrol agents were spotted making arrests.
A three-day Border Patrol operation in Kern County in January resulted in 78 arrests. The deportation raids stirred fear for many San Joaquin Valley families and children, and sparked at least one lawsuit and several protests.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Behpoor works as a manager at Pismo’s Coastal Grill in north Fresno and has a side job installing and maintaining point-of-sale systems at local businesses. He said he recently started a property management company, but that’s been destroyed by the ICE arrest.
He immigrated to the U.S. from Iran at age 3 with his mother, uncle and grandfather, but he has no memory of that country or any of the immigration process. They left Iran a few years after the Iranian Revolution because they feared for their safety, he said.
At 18, he was arrested and accused of burglary and being in possession of stolen property in 2002. He said he signed a plea bargain and wore an ankle monitor for about two years as he went back to school and straightened himself out.
Now, he’s married and has a 3-year-old son, Psalm Wally, and said he works hard to provide for them and hasn’t been in any trouble since 18. He was surprised when an immigration agent called him to come down to the Fresno office.
An agent detained him when he arrived, separating him from his attorney. Behpoor said he pleaded with the agent, noting the outcome of the case. The agent said they found him through arrest records and not by convictions.
Pismo’s owner calls him “best of the best”
Pismo’s owner Dave Fansler, who employs about 350 people, said Behpoor is “the best of the best” and has worked for a decade at that restaurant.
“Out of the 350, he’s right up at the top of most liked with employees and customers,” Fansler said. “He’s already paid the price. They got to let him out.”
Fansler said he has customers calling him asking how they can help and where they can send letters.
Behpoor said he was previously given a United Nations Convention Against Torture declaration, which means living in Iran would be a threat to him. He said he’s also concerned for his life if he’s deported to a country under Islamic rule, noting that he converted to Christianity.
“It scares the hell out of me, because they can send me to another country where they’ll execute you for something like that,” he said.
As the Trump Administration took office, Behpoor said he started the process to get a green card and in April submitted a brief in court to resolve his immigration status. He’s waiting to hear back from them.
Meanwhile, Behpoor says he’s languishing in the detention center without even a court date.
Lera Mirakyan, Behpoor’s wife, said their 3-year-old doesn’t know his dad is being detained. He only knows that his father isn’t around.
“He misses his father a lot. He always asks for him,” the 29-year-old said. “He gets his toys and hugs them tight and cries.”
Behpoor was the sole breadwinner, working multiple jobs. She’s a stay-at-home mom, and said it pains her that her husband is missing time with his son.
“This is the age when the dad teaches a son,” she said. “A son needs his father. The best kids’ heroes are their fathers, and especially my husband.”
Mirakyan said her husband is hard-working, loves his son and is charitable.
“He’s a totally different person. Everyone makes mistakes, especially when you’re a kid,” she said. “In the Fresno community, I don’t have to convince anybody. They love Psalm. But with ICE, I feel like I do.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 12:28 PM.
