Court filings show US-Iran contacts over wartime deportations
Newly unsealed documents describe contacts over travel papers and possible removals, while a judge required advance notice before any deportation is carried out.
Newly unsealed court documents show the Trump administration maintained contacts with Iranian officials during the US-Iran war about removing Iranian nationals, the Associated Press reported on November 5. The filings describe exchanges over travel documents and “possible avenues for removal.” As recently as mid-October, the government said it planned to deport Iranians through an unnamed third country, according to the AP; it was unclear when officials intended to act.
What the court ordered before deportations
US District Judge Ana Reyes ordered officials to give the court 24 hours’ notice of any finalized plan to deport Iranians to Iran or another country, and five days’ written notice before carrying out a deportation, the AP reported. At an October 15 hearing, Reyes questioned pursuing removals to a country President Donald Trump had described as an enemy. According to the hearing transcript quoted by the AP, Reyes said the country was “essentially lawless” and an enemy of the United States, explicitly attributing those characterizations to Trump.
The lawsuit and DHS response
The contacts surfaced in litigation alleging US immigration agencies shared confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with Iran and pressured people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody to return. The allegations remain claims in the lawsuit. The Department of Homeland Security denied sharing asylum application records with the Iranian government, according to the AP-syndicated Global News report.
Why third-country removals matter
Deportations from the United States directly to Iran have historically been rare, the AP reported, citing the lack of diplomatic relations and the risk of persecution for people returned there. The AP’s Global News report said third-country removals have addressed diplomatic obstacles, with El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama accepting noncitizens removed from the United States during Trump’s second term. The filings did not name the country under discussion or establish that the mid-October plan was finalized or carried out.
The Straits Times reported that the war was politically contentious in the United States and that a new Democrat-controlled Congress would not convene until January. That political context does not independently confirm the deportation contacts.
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Sources and context
- Trump administration held talks with Iran on deporting Iranians during the war, court documents showPBS NewsHour; reporting credited to the Associated Press
- US held secret talks with Iran to deport its nationals even as war raged, court filings showThe Times of India; report attributes information to the Associated Press
- With US Congress flipped, Trump faces hard choices on the Iran warThe Straits Times
- Trump administration held deportation talks with Iran during war: documentsGlobal News; explicitly syndicated from the Associated Press
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.