Kabul Regime Objects as Trump Team Readies Afghan Deportation Flight

Afghanistan’s ruling regime said Monday it has “serious concern” about a Trump administration plan to deport more than 150 Afghans held in the United States by flying them to Pakistan, from where they are expected to be sent back across the border, according to Euronews.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expresses its serious concern over reports that the United States intends to deport some Afghan refugees to Pakistan who have not yet been able to obtain legal residency documents in that country,” foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in a statement, Euronews reported.

Taliban Urges US to Reconsider Deportation of Afghan Immigrants Through Pakistan

Kabul warns that deportations could expose former US military allies and their families to persecution as Washington seeks to return more than 150 Afghans via Pakistan

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Flights from Louisiana

The Associated Press reported that, according to court documents it obtained, the U.S. intends to begin the deportations as early as Monday on flights from Louisiana, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement runs detention and processing facilities, to Pakistan. The AP said the plan was first reported by Bloomberg last week and that The New York Times reported Friday that the immigrants were expected to be flown out of Louisiana.

The New York Times, citing three U.S. officials, reported that more than 150 Afghan immigrants are expected to be deported, which the paper described as one of the largest single expulsions of Afghans. According to the Times, the group includes relatives of people who helped the U.S. military.

Because the United States has no diplomatic relations with Kabul, it cannot arrange deportations directly to Afghanistan, the Times reported. Anonymous U.S. officials told the paper that Pakistan will oversee the onward removal, according to Euronews. The Times wrote that routing the flight through Pakistan gives the administration a way around the hurdles that have so far blocked such removals.

Questions in Islamabad

Pakistani officials and the United Nations refugee agency said they had not been given any information about the planned deportation, Afghan journalist Tahir Khan said in a post on X on Monday.

Pakistan itself has been pushing Afghans out. Euronews reported that Pakistan’s government ordered law enforcement nationwide earlier this year to arrest Afghan citizens without visas. Euronews also noted that Germany and Turkey have deported Afghan nationals directly to Afghanistan in recent years.

Advocates warn of danger

Advocacy groups have warned that sending former allies and their families back could endanger their lives, according to Euronews. The Los Angeles Times reported that it is unclear whether any of those facing removal have legal protections against deportation.

The Los Angeles Times also reported that thousands of Afghans remain stranded abroad after the administration paused a Biden-era resettlement program, including people who went through years of vetting.

The administration has made enforcement of final removal orders a centerpiece of its immigration agenda. The planned flight would test whether that enforcement can reach Afghans, a group that until now has largely been beyond the reach of deportation because Washington and Kabul have no formal ties.

The regime now voicing concern took power in 2021 as U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan, Euronews noted. Its statement called for the returns to be handled with respect for the dignity of Afghan citizens, according to the outlet.

The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly announced a departure time for the flight. Daily Beltway will update this story if the flight departs.

Sources

• Euronews
• Associated Press
• The New York Times
• Los Angeles Times
• Tahir Khan on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.