The Trump administration is preparing to deport over 150 Afghan immigrants and U.S. military allies' families to Pakistan on a flight scheduled as early as November 2, 2026. Lacking diplomatic ties with the Taliban, officials are using Pakistan as a third-country transit hub, placing returnees at grave risk of expulsion to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Human rights advocates and former diplomats condemn the third-country removal strategy ahead of a December 2026 Supreme Court legal review.
Planned deportation flight to Pakistan
- ▪U.S. immigration authorities transferred at least 80 Afghan detainees from 34 facilities nationwide to an ICE processing center in Central Louisiana ahead of the deportation flight.
- ▪The Trump administration plans to deport more than 150 Afghan immigrants from the United States to Pakistan on a charter flight expected as early as November 2, 2026.
- ▪A U.S. citizen married to an Afghan detainee reported her husband was transferred to Louisiana for deportation after being detained during a traffic stop in 2025.
- ▪The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State Department declined to confirm prospective deportation flight details, citing operational security reasons.
Vulnerable individuals on deportation flight
- ▪The scheduled deportation flight includes family members of Afghans who worked alongside U.S. military forces and aid organizations during the war in Afghanistan.
- ▪The scheduled deportation flight to Pakistan includes vulnerable individuals, including at least one LGBTQ+ Afghan detainee facing severe persecution risks in Afghanistan.
Persecution risks in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan
- ▪Returning Afghan political dissidents, former soldiers, police officers, and families of U.S. military supporters are targeted for persecution by the Taliban regime.
- ▪Afghan refugees expelled back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan face severe risks of imprisonment, torture, corporal punishment, and execution by Taliban authorities.
Third-country deportation strategy and legal challenges
- ▪The Trump administration has deported thousands of asylum seekers to third countries where they do not hold citizenship, including several nations in Africa.
- ▪The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear legal arguments regarding the constitutionality of third-country deportation agreements in December 2026.
- ▪Because the United States lacks diplomatic relations with the Taliban, the Trump administration uses Pakistan as a transit hub to execute deportations to Afghanistan.
Criticism from refugee advocate groups
- ▪Global Refuge president Krish O'Mara Vignarajah warned that deporting Afghan refugees into Pakistan's mass expulsion campaign deliberately puts them in grave danger.
- ▪AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver accused the Trump administration of scheduling the Afghan deportation flight during the November 2026 U.S. midterm elections to avoid public scrutiny.
- ▪Human Rights First president Uzra Zeya stated that the Trump administration's third-country removal strategy sends vulnerable immigrants into active war zones and severe security crises.
U.S. legal protections for Afghan immigrants
- ▪The Trump administration canceled Temporary Protected Status for over 11,000 Afghans, citing improved national security conditions and increased tourism under Taliban rule.
- ▪AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver urged Congress to pass legislation granting Temporary Protected Status to Afghans in the U.S. to shield them from deportation.
- ▪Federal judges have granted legal protections to certain Afghan immigrants in the U.S. prohibiting direct removal to Afghanistan due to anticipated Taliban persecution.
Refugees stranded at Camp As Sayliyah
- ▪Earlier in 2026, the Trump administration considered transferring stranded Afghan refugees from Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- ▪Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar houses over 1,000 vetted Afghans awaiting U.S. resettlement, including 150 relatives of U.S. military service members.
- ▪The U.S. government postponed the planned closure of Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar by nine months in September 2026, leaving hundreds of Afghan refugees stranded.
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