Afghan deportations from U.S. may involve flights through Pakistan, court documents show

According to court documents reported by WTOP, the U.S. government plans to deport Afghan immigrants detained in the country by first flying them from Louisiana to Pakistan, with further transport to Afghanistan. The documents were filed in federal courts in Virginia and Oklahoma.

The deportation plan includes flights originating from facilities in Louisiana, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processes detainees. A senior ICE official acknowledged in court filings that an Afghan immigrant was scheduled on an upcoming charter flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, to Pakistan, with onward transport to Afghanistan.

Immigrant rights organizations have expressed concern that those deported could face retaliation from the Taliban upon return to Afghanistan. Shawn VanDiver, president of the advocacy group #AfghanEvac, called the plan "absolutely unconscionable."

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on future immigrant removal operations, citing operational security and personnel safety. Officials at the Pakistan embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to inquiries.