USAupdated 2h ago3 min read
Archive photo · 23 October 2015Trump Administration Plans to Deport Dozens of Afghan Migrants Via Pakistan
4 Other3 Western Mainstream1 Asian2 Other source typesPhoto: usicegov / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Dozens of Afghan migrants planned for deportation to Afghanistan via Pakistan. More than 150 Afghans expected on the first deportation flight.
Save coverage image
10 outlets told this the same way.
Deportations via Pakistan
The Trump administration plans to deport dozens of Afghan migrants via Pakistan, with ABC News describing a court filing that shows a deportation flight expected next week would take the deportee to Pakistan and then onward to Afghanistan. Shane Vandayour of Afghan I-OK described some of those facing deportation as relatives of people who worked alongside American forces, and the BBC said the Donald Trump administration plans to deport dozens of Afghan migrants via Pakistan. NBC News said a senior administration official told it the proposed deportation flight could take place as early as Monday, and it said the deportees could include relatives of Afghans who worked with the U.S. military in its 20-year war against the Taliban.
ABC News said advocates and families previously told it that hundreds of Afghan immigrants are being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Louisiana, from where many international deportation flights depart. Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of AfghanEvac, told ABC News that families of those detained are "terrified."
Fear of Taliban return
Shawn VanDiver told ABC News that if removed to Afghanistan, some families fear those removed will face torture or persecution from the Taliban, and he said, "Anybody from Afghanistan is in danger if they get sent back."
Human rights defenders warned that some migrants may be targeted due to their ethnic or racial background, and the BBC said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on potential deportation operations in the future and cited security considerations.
The administration’s position is, ‘These individuals do not have status in our country, therefore we don’t really care what happens to them,’ and NBC News quoted a senior administration official as saying it while it said the official declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Reuters said the deportations are via Pakistan because Washington, lacking diplomatic ties with the Taliban government, cannot directly arrange their return to Afghanistan, and the BBC reported that.
NBC News said the legality of so-called third-country deportation agreements is set to be debated by the Supreme Court in December.
Lawmakers and advocates react
Democratic Rep. Scott Peters said in a statement that "Afghans who stood with American troops, and their families, are being quietly loaded onto a plane to Pakistan" and he called the decision "absolute cruelty" that needs to be reversed.
Senator Chris Coons of Delaware wrote on X that "While he hopes nobody is watching, Trump greenlit the expulsion of more than 150 Afghans back to Taliban rule" and he said they will face "almost certain persecution, torture, or worse."
The BBC said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would not comment on potential deportation operations in the future and cited security considerations, while it also reported that Vandayour urged the U.S. Congress to pass a law granting temporary protected status to Afghans residing in the country.
Shawn VanDiver told NBC News that AfghanEvac had confirmed that in recent days, at least 80 Afghans have been moved to Louisiana from 34 other ICE facilities around the country, and it said 19 of them were without legal representation.
A State Department spokesman reaffirmed that "all countries must be able to manage their borders and immigration processes in a manner that ensures the safety, security, and prosperity of their citizens."