Judge Halts Afghan Deportation Flights Through Saturday

A federal judge in New York on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting detained Afghans to Afghanistan or Pakistan, stopping flights that had been scheduled to leave Louisiana earlier this week. The order, issued by Judge Valerie Caproni, expires Saturday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the court Tuesday that it had no chartered or commercial flights booked for Afghan nationals to Afghanistan or Pakistan at least through the end of the week. ICE books flights weeks in advance. Caproni's order requires officials to adhere to that schedule through its expiration.

Court documents obtained by the Associated Press show the United States had planned to move Afghan immigrants Monday on flights from Louisiana, where ICE operates detention and processing facilities, to Pakistan. Human Rights First and AfghanEvac said more than 80 detained Afghans contacted advocates after ICE notified them they could be deported this week via Pakistan. Those contacted include women, a police officer, members of religious minorities, and people whose family members served in the U.S. military.

A letter led by Rep. Scott Peters, a California Democrat, and signed by 65 other members of the House and Senate was sent Monday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The signers said they were "extremely concerned that sending vulnerable people" would expose them to "persecution, torture, or even death." Immigrant rights organizations have also warned that deportees could face Taliban retaliation. Thousands of Afghans fled after helping the U.S. military and aid groups in Afghanistan.

Before the judge signed her order, Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan's foreign ministry, said "the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expresses its serious concern" about reports that the United States planned to transfer Afghans to Pakistan. Takal said "third-party countries should not engage in dealings concerning the fate of another nation's citizens."

Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, called the order "a reprieve, not a resolution." Savitri Arvey of Human Rights First said people returned to Afghanistan face arbitrary detentions, executions, public flogging and retaliatory violence. "The stakes were very, very high," she said, adding that women and girls face denials of education, employment and public speech. Arvey said her group is tracking flights to confirm none depart. The court order expires Saturday.