Deportation flights to carry Afghans from Louisiana to Pakistan

U.S. authorities have scheduled charter flights to transport detained Afghans to Pakistan, according to federal court filings.

The documents indicate that the first flights are set to depart from Alexandria, Louisiana, as early as Monday. The plan involves routing the immigrants through Pakistan before moving them to Afghanistan. A senior ICE official confirmed the schedule in a sealed document filed in a Virginia federal court on Friday. The filing described an Afghan immigrant who is not currently in custody but is challenging his deportation. The official acknowledged the individual was scheduled for a charter flight to Pakistan, with further transport onward to Afghanistan. In a separate case in Oklahoma, federal prosecutors filed a document on Monday disclosing that another Afghan immigrant faces deportation to Afghanistan next week. Human Rights First, a refugee advocacy group, confirmed on Saturday that a flight from Louisiana to Pakistan is scheduled for Tuesday carrying Afghan immigrants. The organization tracks U.S. deportation flights and has documented previous controversial removals, including Iranian Christian converts sent via Qatar and Kuwait, and a Russian political dissident sent via Egypt.

Advocates and politicians have raised concerns about the safety of the Afghans being deported. Shawn VanDiver, a U.S. Navy veteran and president of the advocacy group #AfghanEvac, called the plan unconscionable. He stated that the actions show a willingness to break the law and violate human rights. Savitri Arvey, director of policy for refugee and immigrant rights at Human Rights First, described the move as beyond egregious. She said the administration is forcibly sending Afghans through Pakistan into the hands of the Taliban. Arvey noted that many of these individuals helped the U.S. military and aid groups in Afghanistan, which could lead to retaliation. Democratic members of Congress also criticized the plan on social media after reports emerged on Friday. Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire called the plan reprehensible, noting that hundreds of Afghans, including women and children, risk being sent back to the Taliban. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut argued that the administration is betraying a promise to Afghan allies who aided American troops. He warned that the deportations send them to potential torture and death.

The Trump administration has previously deported thousands of immigrants to countries other than their own. This practice is sometimes used when the U.S. lacks formal relations with a home country, as is the case with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, or as a deterrent. In many instances, immigration judges have determined that an immigrant’s life would be in jeopardy if sent home. It was not immediately clear if the Afghans designated for return to Afghanistan have protective orders against being sent there. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an email to the Associated Press on Saturday that ICE does not comment on future removal operations due to operational security and personnel safety. Officials at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington did not immediately return email messages. The plan to use Pakistan as a transit point was first reported by Bloomberg on Monday. The New York Times reported on Friday that the immigrants were expected to be sent to Afghanistan after arriving in Pakistan.

The current deportation plan comes amid broader changes to Afghan resettlement efforts. In September, the administration finalized a last-minute reprieve to keep Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar open. The camp houses more than 1,000 Afghans who assisted the U.S. war effort or are relatives of U.S. service members. The camp was due to close on September 30 at the end of the U.S. budget year, but the administration extended its life by nine months. Upon entering his second term, President Trump paused the prior administration’s Afghan resettlement program. This move was part of a series of executive orders aimed at cracking down on immigration. The changes focused refugee admissions on white South Africans. These policy shifts left thousands of people who fled war and persecution stranded at locations worldwide, including the base in Qatar. Many of these individuals had completed yearslong vetting processes to start new lives in America.