Court records reveal US talks with Iran on deportations during war
Newly unsealed documents show continued contacts over removals as a legal group reports that Iranian detainees have been told they could soon be deported.
By Hassan Okoye ·
President Donald Trump’s administration continued private discussions with Iran about returning Iranian detainees while the countries were at war, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press. The records, unsealed Thursday, show that officials were planning as recently as mid-October to arrange deportations through an unidentified third country, without specifying a departure date.
The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, which brought the lawsuit that produced the disclosures, said at least 12 Iranians in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody had received deportation notifications during the past week. Some were told they could be sent back as early as Sunday, November 8. The group said Iran’s Interest Section, a consular office operating within Pakistan’s embassy in Washington, had contacted detainees about a flight to Iran through Pakistan. Some also received notifications from Department of Homeland Security officials.
Judge Ana Reyes has required the government to notify the court within 24 hours of finalizing plans to deport Iranians to Iran or another country, and to provide written notice five days before carrying out a removal. During an October 15 hearing, she questioned the danger of returning people to a country the United States was bombing and warned that violating her notification order would trigger contempt proceedings.
Justice Department attorney Dimitar Georgiev-Remmel told Reyes that officials were carrying out lawful removal orders and that no specific departure date had been set. The records describe continuing contacts with Iran to submit travel documents and explore ways to arrange deportations. In a Wednesday filing, the Justice Department argued that the possibility of sanctions or contempt meant the notification order effectively functioned as an injunction.
The legal fund’s executive director, Yasmine Chubin, said one detainee attempted suicide after learning he might be returned to Iran. He and another detainee were subsequently transferred across state lines to a detention facility frequently used before removals, she said. According to the organization, none of those contacted had received written information from immigration authorities. Chubin called for the flight to be stopped, while activists abroad have raised concerns about returnees facing Iran’s repression of dissent.
The lawsuit alleges that US immigration agencies disclosed confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers to Tehran, breaching immigration regulations and putting people at risk. It describes cooperation between the two governments to identify detained Iranians and pressure them to return. DHS denies sharing asylum application records. Reyes said confidential information might have been disclosed, but expressed skepticism about allegations of a coordinated DHS policy to share those records.
Earlier filings and correspondence documented deportation discussions before the war. Hundreds of emails between US immigration officials also detailed cooperation that led to more than 100 Iranians being returned on three flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026. The State Department said it generally would not discuss pending litigation or private diplomatic exchanges and directed other questions to DHS, which did not immediately respond.
Historically, deportations to Iran have been uncommon because the countries lack diplomatic relations and returnees could face persecution. Trump’s wider immigration crackdown has included removals to countries with which deportees have no connection. El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama have accepted noncitizens deported by the United States during his second term. In June, an Iranian woman was among two dozen migrants deported to the Central African Republic.
