US deports Afghan relative of military allies to Central African Republic on third-country flight

Deportation flight to Bangui

The United States deported about 70 foreign nationals to the Central African Republic on a flight that landed in the capital city of Bangui on Saturday. Among the passengers on board was a 24-year-old Afghan national identified as Khalil, whose relatives worked alongside American forces during the military campaign in Afghanistan. According to Savi Arvey, director of policy, refugee and immigrant rights at Human Rights First, the flight manifest included 12 Afghans and eight Iranians, as well as several individuals from Nepal and Nicaragua. The arrival marked the third US deportation flight sent to the Central African Republic since June. The transfers occurred despite the US State Department maintaining a travel advisory warning American citizens against all travel to the country due to civil war, crime, kidnapping, health hazards, and terrorism.

Family ties to American forces

Khalil was granted legal protection from removal after demonstrating credible fear of persecution by the Taliban in Afghanistan. His family received direct threats from the Taliban because multiple relatives assisted the American military mission prior to the collapse of the Afghan government in 2021. One of his brothers, who served in the Afghan National Army alongside American personnel, currently resides in the United States. Another brother was a pilot trained by the United States who was later killed by the Taliban. Court records and legal representatives confirmed that Khalil's father and sister also worked with American forces during the 20-year conflict in Afghanistan.

Expansion of third-country removals

Following a Supreme Court ruling in July, the administration of President Donald Trump began negotiating accords with foreign governments to accept deportees who hold no prior ties to those nations. Human Rights First and Refugees International, organizations that monitor deportation operations, report that 23,000 individuals have been transferred to third countries under these arrangements. Approximately 19,000 of those deportees were transferred to Mexico. Under this broader enforcement campaign, the administration has moved to revoke protected statuses from hundreds of thousands of immigrants. While thousands of Afghans received asylum or special visas after Kabul fell, others obtained withholding of removal from immigration judges when asylum was not granted.

Legal objections and allied commitments

Advocacy organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and AfghanEvac, stated that the flight violated longstanding commitments to safeguard wartime partners and their families. Alma David, Khalil's attorney, noted that an immigration judge granted him withholding of removal last year after finding his fear of Taliban retribution credible. Sarah Mehta, deputy director of immigration policy and government affairs at the American Civil Liberties Union, criticized the administration's reliance on third-country destinations enduring active conflicts.

Sending people who won protection in immigration court to a conflict zone is a callous and deliberate strategy by this administration to force people to abandon their claims and rights.

Legal advocates argue that transferring protected individuals to high-risk environments bypasses the protections established by immigration courts.