Trump administration prepares first deportation flight of Afghans to Pakistan, critics warn

The Trump administration is preparing to deport dozens of Afghan immigrants and asylum seekers to Pakistan. A senior administration official told NBC News it would be the first flight of its kind ¹. The flight has not been announced. Rights advocates and detainees' families say it could leave as early as Monday ¹.

Some of the people facing removal are relatives of Afghans who worked with the U.S. military during its 20-year war against the Taliban. The Taliban is back in power ¹. Critics say the deportees could face severe consequences if Pakistan returns them to Afghanistan, as is widely expected ¹.

On tapeWION · Oct 27

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Who is being moved

Shawn VanDiver is president of AfghanEvac, a San Diego advocacy group. He said at least 80 Afghans were moved in recent days to Louisiana from 34 other ICE facilities. ICE is Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Nineteen of the 80 have no lawyer ¹. He said hundreds more could be held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center ¹.

The senior official said the flight could carry people with deportation orders, people denied asylum and people whose temporary protected status was ended by the administration ¹. Many of the Afghans asked for asylum after crossing from Mexico, VanDiver said, and some of their cases are still pending ¹.

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A separate report published Oct. 27 by VisaVerge, a immigration news site, said AfghanEvac believes a charter could leave Louisiana in the first week of November. It said officials have not confirmed the number of people, the timing or whether Pakistan would accept them ². Some detainees were told Pakistan was the destination and others were told Afghanistan ².

You don’t have to be that smart to figure out that they’re sending them to Pakistan so that Pakistan will finish the job

What officials say

The senior official, who spoke without being named, said the plane could not land in Pakistan without that government's knowledge and approval. It is unclear what formal agreement exists ¹. Asked whether the administration worries about discouraging future allies from helping U.S. forces, the official said, “I don’t think they care.” ¹

The Department of Homeland Security said it could not confirm removal operations “for operational security reasons.” The State Department said it had “no plans to announce.” Pakistan's foreign ministry and embassy did not respond ¹.

A family caught in the middle

A woman identified only as Charlotte, a U.S. citizen, said her Afghan husband has been in ICE detention since early 2025. His asylum case has been pending for nine years. He was moved to Louisiana this month and told he would be deported in early November ¹. She withheld her last name to protect him from the Taliban ¹.

I’m just terrified that he’s not going to be safe

Why it matters

Pakistan began a sweeping crackdown on Afghans in 2023, pressuring hundreds of thousands to leave and forcibly deporting others ¹. Afghanistan faces widespread malnutrition, fighting with Pakistan and a sharp rollback of women's rights ¹.

The administration has already deported thousands of people to countries that are not their own. Immigration lawyers say that is meant to skirt international bans on returning asylum seekers to places they fled ¹. The Supreme Court is set to debate the legality of those third-country deals in December ¹.

That matters beyond this flight. How the government treats Afghans who worked with U.S. forces will shape whether others will help U.S. forces in the future, as VanDiver and others warn ¹.

The Record

1. Oct 26, 2026Bloomberg reported the U.S. was preparing to deport detained Afghans to Pakistan, and AfghanEvac said a charter could leave Louisiana in early November ².
2. Oct 31, 2026A senior administration official told NBC News the first Afghan deportation flight to Pakistan was being prepared, possibly as early as Monday ¹.

Sources

1. NBC News, “Trump administration set to deport Afghan refugees to Pakistan — endangering their lives, critics say” (2026-10-31). nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-administration-set-deport-afg
2. VisaVerge, “United States plans to deport detained Afghans to Pakistan” (2026-10-27). visaverge.com/legal/united-states-plans-to-deport-detained-a

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