First posted on Instagram
The Trump administration is preparing to deport more than 150 Afghan immigrants currently detained in Louisiana, in what would be one of the largest single expulsions of Afghans, with a first charter flight expected as early as Monday, November 2, according to the New York Times report of October 30, confirmed by Reuters the same day.
The detainees would first be flown to Pakistan and then transferred across the border into Afghanistan, which has been under Taliban control since the 2021 American withdrawal. A U.S. official said deportations would go via Pakistan because Washington has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban and cannot directly arrange deportations to Afghanistan. The Department of Homeland Security would not confirm future removal operations, citing operational security.
Many of those facing removal fled Afghanistan after the 2021 Taliban takeover. They include relatives of Afghans who served alongside American forces — Shawn VanDiver, head of #AfghanEvac, said some are "brothers and sons of men who served alongside US forces, families the Taliban already has every reason to target" — and at least one gay Afghan. Some in the group have felony convictions; one detainee identified as Mohammad entered the country illegally in 2024 and had his asylum application denied following felony convictions.
Refugee advocates and U.S. veterans warn the deportees could face imprisonment, torture or execution on return. Human Rights First warned on October 29 that the operation could involve hundreds of Afghans and become the first large-scale U.S. deportation flight returning Afghans to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and that routing removals through Pakistan would not remove the danger, since Pakistan has expelled more than 2 million Afghan nationals to Afghanistan since 2023. VanDiver urged Congress to pass legislation granting Afghans in the U.S. temporary protected status.
The administration's position, as reported: immigration laws must be enforced, and President Trump has said his immigration crackdown and deportation drive aim to improve domestic security. The reports note that nearly 100 Afghans have been deported to Afghanistan over the last four years.