US Plans to Deport Afghans to Home Country Via Pakistan

The U.S. is planning to deport Afghans detained in the United States back to their home country through Pakistan, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press. Immigrant rights organizations have expressed concern that this move could endanger the lives of those deported, potentially placing them at risk of retaliation from the Taliban.

Thousands of Afghans had fled persecution in their home country and feared for their lives after assisting U.S. military and aid groups. Advocacy group #AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver called the plan "absolutely unconscionable" and stated it indicates a willingness to "break the law and violate people's human rights."

According to the documents, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) intends to begin deportations as early as Monday on flights from Louisiana, which houses ICE detention and processing facilities. These flights are reportedly set to go to Pakistan, with a subsequent transport to Afghanistan.

Reports of the planned deportations to Pakistan first emerged on Monday, with The New York Times later reporting that the immigrants would be sent to Afghanistan after arriving in Pakistan. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on future immigrant-removal operations, citing operational security and personnel safety. Officials at the Pakistan embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

U.S. officials confirmed the deportations in sealed court documents. In one federal case in Virginia, a senior ICE official acknowledged that an Afghan immigrant was scheduled for an upcoming charter flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, to Pakistan, "with further transport onward to Afghanistan." This document was filed in the case of an individual challenging their deportation.

In a separate federal case in Oklahoma, prosecutors disclosed that another Afghan immigrant was scheduled for deportation to Afghanistan sometime the following week. The Trump administration has previously deported thousands of immigrants to countries other than their own, often when direct deportation is not feasible due to a lack of formal relations, such as with the Taliban government. This tactic has also been used as a deterrent.

Human Rights First, an advocacy group tracking U.S. deportation flights, confirmed a scheduled flight from Louisiana to Pakistan on Tuesday carrying Afghan immigrants. Savitri Arvey, director of policy, refugee & immigrant rights for Human Rights First, stated that the plan for "unprecedented mass deportation flight of Afghans, forcibly sending them through Pakistan and into the hands of the Taliban" is "beyond egregious."

Some Democratic members of Congress have criticized the deportations. Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire posted on X that it is "reprehensible" to plan deportations to Pakistan for hundreds of Afghans, including women, children, and those who supported U.S. forces, who risk being sent back to the Taliban. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut added that the administration is "betraying" promises made to Afghan allies.

In September, the Trump administration finalized a reprieve to prevent the closure of a camp in Qatar housing over 1,000 Afghans who assisted U.S. efforts or are relatives of U.S. service members. The administration extended the life of Camp As Sayliyah for nine months. Upon entering his second term, Trump, a Republican, had previously paused his predecessor's Afghan resettlement program as part of executive orders aimed at restricting immigration, including changes to refugee admissions. These changes left many individuals who had undergone years of vetting to resettle in America stranded worldwide.