Judge Pauses Plan to Deport Detained Afghans via Pakistan; Order Expires Saturday

U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni of Manhattan has temporarily blocked the administration's plan to deport detained Afghans to Afghanistan or Pakistan — an order set to expire Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

The government told the court ICE had no chartered or commercial flights for these deportations through the end of the week. Court documents indicated the U.S. had planned flights on Monday from Louisiana to Pakistan.

Rep. Scott Peters led a letter signed by 65 other members of the House and Senate to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, warning the removals could expose vulnerable people to persecution, torture or death. More than 80 detained Afghans have contacted advocates since ICE said they could be removed via Pakistan, including women, a police officer, members of religious minorities and relatives of U.S. military members. Most lack legal representation, according to Human Rights First and AfghanEvac.

The practical problem is real: Afghanistan has no formal diplomatic relations with the U.S. because of the Taliban government, which is why the administration has turned to third-country removals, as it has for thousands of immigrants. Afghan deputy foreign ministry spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal said third-party countries should not deal with the fate of another nation's citizens.

Advocates called the ruling a reprieve, not a resolution. Shawn VanDiver of AfghanEvac said as much. The administration's position is that removal orders are executive-branch business, and the question for appeals courts will be how much a single district judge can freeze enforcement of them.