US lawmakers ask Trump administration to halt planned deportation of Afghans
Sixty-six U.S. lawmakers have asked the Trump administration to halt a planned deportation of Afghans, in a letter they sent on Monday.
Lawmakers cited advocacy group reports that at least 150 Afghans were scheduled to be deported starting Tuesday, flown from detention facilities in Louisiana to Pakistan. Human Rights First confirmed that a flight carrying some of the Afghans from Alexandria, Louisiana, to Pakistan was scheduled for Tuesday. CBS News reported that the administration planned to deport nearly 200 Afghan nationals by first sending them to Pakistan, while The New York Times reported that more than 150 Afghan immigrants were expected to be deported.
Department of Homeland Security officials said in court filings that they eventually planned to return some of the Afghans to Afghanistan. Afghanistan asked the United States to act responsibly in deporting Afghan immigrants back home, Reuters reported.
The deportations would send people to a country that is neither their own nor the United States, a practice known as removal to a third country. The Trump administration has sent at least 25,000 people to third countries, according to a tally by Refugees International and Human Rights First, and has made agreements with at least 35 countries to take in third-country nationals.
The issue sits alongside other changes to how Afghans can reach the United States. A Senate report published in October found that issuances of Special Immigrant Visas, a type of U.S. visa, for Afghans have effectively stopped under the second Trump administration. Afghan allies who were evacuated to third countries face harassment and deportation, amid stoppages in the U.S. refugee admissions program, the program that handles refugees seeking resettlement in the country.
The administration is also imposing full restrictions on entry into the United States for nationals of Afghanistan, Chad and the Republic of Congo, according to a statement from Senator Chris Coons and Representative Judy Chu.
