A federal judge in New York temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plans to deport Afghans detained in the United States to Afghanistan or Pakistan on Tuesday (November 3, 2026), after advocates and dozens of members of Congress warned that their lives would be at risk.
ICE books deportation flights weeks in advance. President Donald Trump’s administration has deported thousands of immigrants to countries other than their own. In some cases, it has used third-country deportations when removal to a person’s country of origin was not possible, including when formal diplomatic relations were absent, as is the case with Afghanistan’s Taliban government. In other instances, third-country deportations have been used as a deterrent. “But I want to be honest with you, this is a reprieve, not a resolution. We haven’t stopped this fight forever. This is just a pause.
The government told the court on Tuesday (November 3, 2026) that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had no chartered or commercial flights to deport Afghan nationals to Afghanistan or Pakistan at least until the end of the week. Judge Valerie Caproni’s order, which expires on Saturday (November 7, 2026), directs officials to adhere to that statement. The letter was sent on Monday (November 2, 2026) to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
A letter led by California Democratic Representative Scott Peters and signed by 65 other members of the House and Senate said they were “extremely concerned that sending vulnerable people” would expose them to “persecution, torture, or even death”. Before the judge signed her order, Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan’s foreign ministry, said “the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expresses its serious concern” about reports that the U.S. planned to transfer Afghans to Pakistan. “Today is a good day,” Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, said at a news conference. Savitri Arvey, director of policy, refugee and immigrant rights for Human Rights First, said people returned to Afghanistan “face grave, systematic dangers”, including arbitrary detention, executions, public flogging and retaliatory violence.
The U.S. planned to deport Afghan immigrants on Monday on flights from Louisiana, where ICE has detention and processing facilities, to Pakistan, according to court documents obtained by the Associated Press.
