The U.S. government is planning to deport a number of Afghan asylum seekers to Pakistan, according to a report by Bloomberg News. Among those slated for removal are relatives of Afghans who had previously worked with American forces in Afghanistan.
Citing a federal government official and immigration lawyers, Bloomberg reported on Monday, October 26, that several detained Afghans have been informed they will soon be deported to Pakistan. The flight carrying these individuals could take place in the coming weeks, but U.S. officials have not yet formally commented on the plan.
AfghanEvac, an advocacy group that supports Afghan allies of U.S. forces, stated it has received information indicating a special flight is being arranged to transfer detained Afghans from the state of Louisiana. According to the organization, some detainees were told they would be sent to Pakistan, while another group was informed their destination would be Afghanistan.
Citing its sources within the U.S. government, AfghanEvac suggests that Pakistan may be used as a transit route for transferring these individuals to Afghanistan. The organization added that travel documents have not yet been shown to the detainees, and even their lawyers do not know where their clients will be deported.
AfghanEvac announced that since October 14, it has received at least 30 reports about the potential transfer of Afghans from 15 detention centers across 11 U.S. states. The group has called on the U.S. government to clarify the flight's destination and allow the detainees an opportunity to voice their concerns about the dangers of returning to Afghanistan.
These concerns are heightened by United Nations data showing Pakistan has deported over 85,000 Afghans since the beginning of this year. This suggests that asylum seekers deported from the U.S. could ultimately be sent to Afghanistan.
This is not the first instance of the U.S. government deporting Afghan migrants to third countries. The Associated Press previously reported that a group of migrants, including 12 Afghan citizens, was sent to the Central African Republic. The administration of President Donald Trump has recently expanded the policy of deporting migrants to third countries.
Source: Bloomberg
🌐
