Washington, D.C. – The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) has learned that the Trump administration is planning to deport more Iranians on a flight from the United States back to Iran, even as the death toll from the Iranian government’s recent crackdown numbers in the thousands and internet blackouts continue to conceal abuses.
NIAC is urgently calling for this deportation flight to be halted. Forcing people back to Iran under these conditions, while killed demonstrators are still being counted and identified, shocks the conscience and violates basic principles of human rights and non-refoulement.
“The same administration that promised Iranians that ‘help is on the way’ amid a deadly crackdown is now forcibly sending Iranians back into danger,’” said Jamal Abdi, President of NIAC. “Words of solidarity against violence and repression ring especially hollow when you’re rounding those same people up and forcing them on planes to deliver them back into the hands of their oppressors.”
This would be at least the third deportation flight to Iran, following prior removals in September and December that raised grave concerns about ICE detention practices and due process for individuals at heightened risk. These deportations come amid mounting evidence of systemic ICE abuses, including wrongful deaths in custody, deplorable conditions in ICE facilities, shootings and arrests of citizens, and the forcible removal of vulnerable individuals with credible fears of reprisal from Iranian authorities.
NIAC calls for an immediate suspension of all U.S. deportations to Iran and urges the Trump administration to restore processing of refugee, asylum, and visa applications for Iranians, which were halted by the administration as part of its travel ban and other policies. NIAC further urges full accountability for ICE’s detention and removal practices. NIAC has filed litigation to force ICE to divulge details regarding its arrest of Iranian nationals, which spiked after the June war, and its deportation flights to Iran. This legal effort is ongoing.