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US lawmakers urge Trump administration to halt Afghan deportations
Rights organisations say the policy risks exposing vulnerable people to persecution and undermining international refugee protections.
Sixty-six US lawmakers have urged President Donald Trump’s administration to stop the planned deportation of Afghans, including former allies who worked alongside American and coalition forces before the 2021 withdrawal.
In a letter sent Monday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, lawmakers cited reports that at least 150 Afghans were due to be transferred from detention facilities in Louisiana to Pakistan from Tuesday.
They warned that returning Afghans to the region could expose them and their families to persecution because of their links to the former Afghan government and US forces.
“Our country made a promise never to abandon the Afghans who sacrificed their own and their family’s safety to stand with American service members,” the lawmakers wrote.
Human Rights First confirmed that a flight carrying some of the detainees from Alexandria, Louisiana, to Pakistan was scheduled for Tuesday.
Advocacy groups say many of those facing deportation have struggled to challenge their removal in court because they lacked legal representation. Some previously served in Afghanistan’s security forces or worked with US personnel.
The deportations come amid the Trump administration’s wider immigration crackdown, which has included agreements with at least 35 countries to accept migrants deported from the United States.
Rights organisations say the policy risks exposing vulnerable people to persecution and undermining international refugee protections.
More than 120,000 Afghans were evacuated during the 2021 US withdrawal. Many were initially admitted to the United States under humanitarian parole and later received temporary protection while seeking permanent immigration status.
However, lengthy immigration backlogs have left thousands uncertain about their future.
Afghan advocacy groups are urging Congress to introduce legislation restoring protections for Afghans who assisted US forces and remain at risk of persecution if returned to Afghanistan.
A 13-member delegation of Afghan traders and industrialists has departed for Iran to strengthen trade and economic ties between the two countries.
The delegation is visiting Iran at the official invitation of the Iran-Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and in coordination with the Afghanistan-Iran Joint Chamber of Commerce.
During the visit, the delegation is scheduled to meet with Iranian economic officials, attend bilateral trade meetings and visit industrial centers across the country.
The visit will also focus on exploring new investment opportunities, expanding joint ventures, exchanging expertise and identifying ways to strengthen economic cooperation between the private sectors of Afghanistan and Iran.
France is holding technical discussions with Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan authorities to facilitate the return of Afghan nationals living in the country without legal immigration status, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has confirmed.
Speaking before the French parliament on Monday, Nunez said Paris was seeking arrangements to return a number of Afghans who are in an irregular immigration situation.
“We are trying to obtain the possibility to return a certain number of Afghans who are in an irregular situation. These are technical discussions,” Nunez told lawmakers, adding that other European countries, including Germany, were pursuing similar arrangements.
The French minister said some Afghan nationals could pose threats to public order and described their deportation as a priority for the government.
According to AFP, France had already begun discussions with IEA authorities in early October to facilitate the deportation of Afghan nationals.
Although France does not officially recognise the Islamic Emirate administration or maintain diplomatic relations with it, Paris has joined around 20 European Union countries, including Germany, Belgium and Sweden, in efforts to accelerate the return of Afghan nationals, particularly those convicted of criminal offences.
However, the discussions have drawn criticism from some French lawmakers and human rights groups.
Lea Balage El Mariky, a lawmaker from the Ecologists party, accused the French government of moving towards normalising relations with an IEA she criticised over restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, a meeting held in Brussels in June between a IEA delegation and representatives from 15 EU countries also faced criticism from human rights organisations and left-wing European lawmakers. The discussions focused on irregular migration and increasing deportations.
In September, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern over what he described as international silence surrounding Afghanistan’s worsening human rights and humanitarian situation, calling for an end to forced returns.
A coordination meeting on economic cooperation between Afghanistan and the Russian Federation was held in Kabul under the chairmanship of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs said that the Ministry of Finance presented a report on the latest meeting of the Afghanistan-Russia Joint Economic Commission.
According to the statement, a plan to advance the commission’s work has been prepared and submitted to the office of the leader of the Islamic Emirate for final approval. It added that an economic cooperation document, prepared with the Russian side on the sidelines of the recent
Kazan Forum in Tatarstan, has been finalized and is expected to be signed with the Russian Federation in the near future.
The meeting also discussed ways to implement the decisions of the latest session of the Joint Economic Commission, as well as investment opportunities and priorities in infrastructure, trade, electricity, transport, mining, higher education, agriculture, irrigation, livestock, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, business visa issuance, telecommunications and information technology.
Participants also reviewed and identified investment opportunities and priorities in these sectors.
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