Trump administration coordinated with Iran on deportations for asylum seekers in middle of war – AP

One of the detainees attempted suicide once he learned he could be deported to Iran, according to the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund’s executive director Yasmine Chubin.Follow us on GoogleDetainment shackles sit on a tarmac for immigrants deemed eligible for an expedited order of removal, by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to an airport in Tampa, Florida, U.S., November 7, 2025.(photo credit: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)NOVEMBER 6, 2026 12:19The Trump administration held talks with Iran about deporting Iranians in the midst of Operation Epic Fury, the Associated Press reported on Friday.Court documents obtained by the AP show that the administration intended to deport Iranian nationals through a third country as recently as mid-October. The documents did not note when the Iranians would be deported, or through which country.At least a dozen Iranians held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities were notified over the past week that they would be deported to Iran, the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund said. According to the AP and the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, some of them were told they could be deported as soon as Sunday.The judge in the case ordered the administration to give the court 24 hours' notice of any finalized plans to deport the Iranians, and five days’ written notice before such a deportation is carried out.The administration had conversations with Iranian leaders about the deportations as early as last year before the war began. The court documents show that the administration maintained contact with Iran during the war to figure out “possible avenues for removal.”An immigrant in detainment shackles, deemed eligible for an expedited order of removal, boards air transport by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at an airport in Tampa, Florida, U.S., November 7, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON)Trump administration maintained contact with Iran over deportations, despite icy diplomatic relationsThe AP noted that the news that the US continued those talks during the war with Iran illustrates the lengths to which the administration will go to carry out its immigration policy.“We are at war with a country where the President of the United States has said, as recently as two or three days ago, if not yesterday, that it is essentially lawless... A country that is an enemy of the United States, according to the current president. A country that, according to our president, murdered tens of thousands of protesters,” Judge Ana Reyes said, according to the Oct. 15 transcript provided by the AP.“And what you’re telling me is that the United States of America is going to send individuals back to that region, facing what you and I and everyone who would ever look at this would know would be, at a minimum, a serious threat of certain death.”“Yes, your honor. The government is executing lawful orders of removal.” Justice Department Attorney Dimitar Georgiev-Remmel said, according to the transcript.Georgiev-Remmel noted to the court there was no specific date set to deport any individuals.The State Department did not respond to the AP’s request for comment.The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund said that the detainees were contacted by an Iranian representative office in the Pakistani Embassy in Washington about an upcoming deportation flight to Iran through Pakistan. Some were also notified by Department of Homeland Security officials of the flight. None were provided any written information about their deportation.One of the detainees attempted suicide once he learned he could be deported to Iran, according to the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund’s executive director Yasmine Chubin.“Some of those same asylum applicants, and others who could face the same death, are being sent back, all against a backdrop of further and intensifying US bombing of Iran. This flight must be stopped,” Chubin said, according to the AP.The lawsuit on the asylum seekers, which the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund filed, alleges that the administration shared confidential information with the Islamic regime, thus violating national immigration laws and endangering scores of Iranian nationals. It alleges that the US and Iranian governments coordinated a campaign to pressure Iranian nationals detained by ICE to return to Iran. Notably, this would come after decades of hostile relations between the US and the Islamic Republic.DHS denied sharing asylum application records with the regime.The judge overseeing the case noted that the DHS may have shared confidential information with regime leadership, but appeared skeptical of the plaintiff’s allegations that the DHS has a policy of sharing private records.Reyes warned the DOJ attorney that she would initiate contempt proceedings if the government did not follow her orders to give the court advance notice of planned removal flights.“We are talking about sending individuals in our care and custody to a country that we have bombed, and we may continue bombing, and is a declared enemy of this country,” she said, according to the transcript.Notably, the report comes as Iran has killed hundreds of protesters from January 2026 demonstrations. Iranians are rarely deported in the US because of the lack of relations between the US and Iran, in addition to fears of persecution or death for those who are forced to return.Follow us on Google