Court records show US maintained deportation talks with Iran during war
Documents unsealed in a lawsuit reveal the administration coordinated with Tehran on removing detainees even as military hostilities continued.
By Oliver Bennett ·
The Trump administration maintained active diplomatic channels with Iran regarding the deportation of Iranian nationals even while the two countries were engaged in active warfare. Court documents unsealed on Thursday reveal that the government discussed specific logistics for removing detainees through a third country as late as mid-October. The release of these records comes from a lawsuit brought by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, which represents Iranians currently held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The filings indicate that the administration held these discussions despite the ongoing conflict. The judge in the case, Ana Reyes, ordered the government to provide 24-hour notice to the court before finalizing any deportation plans to Iran or another country. She also mandated five days' written notice prior to carrying out any such removal. The administration has stated that no specific date had been set for the deportations at the time of the most recent hearing.
Reyes expressed skepticism about the safety of returning individuals to a nation she described as lawless and an enemy of the United States. "We are at war with a country where the President of the United States has said.. that it is essentially lawless," Reyes said during an October 15 hearing. She questioned the decision to send people to a region where they face a serious threat of certain death. In response, Justice Department attorney Dimitar Georgiev-Remmel confirmed that the government was executing lawful orders of removal.
The legal group representing the detainees reported that at least a dozen individuals were notified over the past week that they were being deported to Iran. Some detainees were told the flight could occur as soon as Sunday. According to Yasmine Chubin, the executive director of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, the detainees were contacted by the Iranian Interest Section, a representative office located in the Pakistani Embassy in Washington. This office handles consular affairs between the two nations.
Chubin stated that one detainee attempted suicide after learning he might be returned to Iran. He and another individual were subsequently moved across state lines to a detention center typically used for pre-removal processing. None of the contacted detainees received written information from immigration authorities regarding their upcoming deportation. Chubin argued that the flight must be stopped, noting that the deportations are occurring against a backdrop of intensifying U.S. bombing of Iran.
Historically, deporting Iranians to their home country has been rare due to the lack of diplomatic relations and the risk of persecution. However, the current administration has aggressively pursued removals from countries with which the U.S. has little or no diplomatic contact. Emails exchanged between U.S. immigration officials show that the two governments worked together to arrange for more than 100 Iranians to be flown back on three separate flights between September 2025 and January 2026.
The lawsuit alleges that U.S. immigration agencies shared confidential information about asylum seekers with the Iranian government. The Department of Homeland Security has denied sharing application records, but the judge acknowledged the possibility while appearing skeptical of claims that there is a coordinated policy to do so. The administration has also used third countries, including El Salvador and Panama, to accept noncitizens when home countries refuse to take their people back.
In a court filing on Wednesday, the Justice Department argued that the judge's order for advance notice effectively serves as an injunction. The department noted the possibility of sanctions and contempt proceedings hanging over the administration's head. The State Department said it generally does not comment on pending litigation or private diplomatic discussions. It referred further questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
