66 US Lawmakers Tell Trump to Stop Deporting 150 Afghans via Pakistan

Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP via Al Jazeera (file photo, 2021)

Sixty-six members of the United States Congress have told President Donald Trump to stop a planned deportation of at least 150 Afghans, warning that sending them back through Pakistan to Taliban rule could be a death sentence. The first flight, they were told, was due to leave Louisiana for Pakistan as early as Tuesday.

The letter went to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Monday. It was led by Democratic Representative Scott Peters of California, and it was signed by members of both chambers of Congress.

Al Jazeera reported that the lawmakers were acting on reports from advocacy groups. Those reports said at least 150 Afghans held in detention in Louisiana were due to be flown to Pakistan, with onward return to Afghanistan to follow. Human Rights First said it had confirmed a flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, to Pakistan scheduled for Tuesday.

Many of the people on the list worked alongside coalition forces before the withdrawal in 2021, or are relatives of people who did. The letter put it in plain terms: sending them back to one of the most dangerous countries on earth, where they are likely to be targeted for their own or their family's suspected support of the US government, is a death sentence.

One man spoke to advocates on Monday. He had been a police officer under the Afghan government toppled by the Taliban, and he expected to be deported. He feared for his life if he ended up back in Afghanistan. Shawn VanDiver, who leads the AfghanEvac group, said most of the people facing removal never had a proper chance to fight their cases in court, because they had no lawyers to fight for them.

The Trump administration has not confirmed the flight. The Department of Homeland Security declined to confirm future removal operations, citing operational security. Khaama Press reported that the Associated Press had found court filings in which officials said they eventually planned to return some of the Afghans to their home country.

What makes this case different is the route. The United States has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban government, so it cannot simply fly people straight to Kabul. Instead, the plan relies on Pakistan as a transit point. The letter from Peters urged Washington to warn Pakistan that the US will not accept its help in sending deportees onward to the Taliban. Pakistan itself has deported millions of Afghans to Afghanistan in recent years, as relations with the Taliban have worsened.

The Taliban government also spoke up on Monday. Its foreign ministry said it was seriously concerned about the reported plan, and said third countries should not use another country's citizens as bargaining tools.

The letter also raised a second flight, carrying Iranians, which advocates fear could be the first such mass deportation since the US launched its military conflict against Iran. That link matters here, because Washington is already in a tense standoff with Tehran, as seen in the strikes reported on Iran's Qeshm Island and the pressure it is putting on Venezuela to follow a phased political plan.

The numbers behind the story show how wide this has become:

• At least 150 Afghans due to be flown from Louisiana to Pakistan, starting Tuesday
• 66 members of Congress signed the letter to Rubio and Mullin
• At least 25,000 people sent by the Trump administration to third countries, according to a tally by Refugees International and Human Rights First
• Agreements with at least 35 countries to take in third-country nationals
• More than 120,000 Afghans evacuated in 2021 after the chaotic withdrawal from Kabul

For Pakistan, the story lands close to home. If the flight goes ahead, Pakistan becomes the doorway through which these Afghans pass on their way back to Taliban rule. That puts Islamabad in the middle of a row between Washington, the Taliban and rights groups, whether it wants the role or not.

The wider politics are moving fast too. Trump is closing out a midterm campaign in which his own standing has slipped, with his approval near a record low and a Supreme Court fight over 20,000 California ballots still open. The lawmakers asked for an immediate response on the deportation flights.

Sources

• Al Jazeera: US lawmakers ask Trump administration to stop deportation of Afghans
• Congressman Scott Peters: Peters urges Trump admin to cancel mass deportation flights to Afghanistan and Iran
• Khaama Press: 66 US lawmakers urge halt to deportation of 150 Afghans

Watch for whether the Tuesday flight leaves Louisiana, and whether the administration answers the lawmakers at all.

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