Trump Plans To Deport Relatives of Afghans Who Helped US Troops Back To Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan

Trump is preparing one of the largest mass expulsions of Afghans from the US since the Taliban seized Kabul, with more than 150 people – including relatives of men who fought alongside American troops – expected to be flown to Pakistan as early as Monday, where they could then be sent on to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

The charter removal is being routed through Pakistan because Washington has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban. Advocates warn that those on board could face imprisonment, torture or death if they ultimately end up back in Afghanistan.

The Homeland Security Department says it does not comment on future removals.

Flight Could Leave on Monday

More than 150 Afghans are expected to be deported, The New York Times reported on Friday 30 October 2026, citing three US officials and calling it one of the largest single expulsions of Afghans, according to Reuters. The first flight could come as soon as Monday 2 November.

Advocates and families told ABC News that hundreds of Afghans are being held in ICE detention in Louisiana, where many international deportation flights depart. Detainees and their lawyers had been told for about two weeks that removals were being prepared, Amu TV reported, citing AfghanEvac.

A court filing reviewed by ABC News identified Pakistan as the destination of a deportation flight expected next week, 'with further transport to Afghanistan.'

A US official said the deportations would go through Pakistan. The administration cannot arrange removals directly to Afghanistan because it has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban, which seized power when US forces withdrew in 2021.

The plan first surfaced on 26 October, when Bloomberg Law reported that Afghans in immigration detention were being told they would be sent to Pakistan. Some detainees were told Pakistan, others Afghanistan. AfghanEvac said it had heard from government sources that Pakistan could be a stop on the way to Afghanistan.

It is unclear whether Pakistan has formally agreed to receive them. The flight would leave a day before the US midterm elections, though nothing indicates the timing was chosen because of the vote.

Relatives of US Allies in the Firing Line

Many of those facing removal fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. Shawn VanDiver, founder of AfghanEvac, a coalition that advocates for Afghans who helped US troops, said some are 'brothers and sons of men who served alongside US forces, families the Taliban already has every reason to target.'

'Anybody from Afghanistan is in danger if they get sent back,' he told ABC News. He said families were 'terrified.'

Charlotte Moyal's husband has been in immigration detention for more than a year. He was recently moved from Pennsylvania to Louisiana and told he could be deported as early as next week, ABC News reported.

At least one gay man is among those facing removal, according to The New York Times as relayed by Khaama Press. Same-sex relations are criminalised under Taliban rule, and people accused of them have faced corporal punishment, including public flogging.

AfghanEvac's tracker has logged at least 30 reports of possible removals from 15 detention facilities in 11 states since 14 October. None of the people the group has tracked had been shown travel documents.

Administration Stays Tight-Lipped

The Homeland Security Department said it would not confirm future removal operations, citing operational security. A spokesperson told The New York Times that ICE does not comment on prospective removals, including 'schedules, destinations or individual cases.'

A State Department spokesman said the department reaffirmed its position that 'all countries must be able to manage their borders and immigration processes,' according to ABC News.

Trump has said his immigration crackdown and deportation drive are meant to improve domestic security. Rights advocates have accused the wider crackdown of undermining due process and creating an unsafe environment for minorities, Reuters reported.

Lawyers for some detainees are challenging the deportations, according to the Times. The government has not publicly announced the flight, and it remains unclear exactly how many people will be on board when it leaves.

Growing Pressure on Congress To Act

Democratic Representative Scott Peters said 'Afghans who stood with American troops, and their families, are being quietly loaded onto a plane to Pakistan'. He warned they would likely be sent on to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and called the policy 'absolute cruelty.' 'This decision needs to be reversed,' he said.

VanDiver urged Congress to pass legislation granting Afghans in the US temporary protected status to shield them from deportation.

AfghanEvac says this would be the first deportation of detained Afghans from the US to Pakistan. The administration has already sent Afghans to third countries, including two flights to the Central African Republic since August. One of those, carrying at least 12 Afghans, left in August, and another carrying at least 10 arrived in October, according to Amu TV.

Pakistan itself has been pushing Afghans out in vast numbers. More than 2.7 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September 2023, including hundreds of thousands deported, Amu TV reported, citing UN refugee and migration agency figures. Between 1 January and 17 October this year alone, 812,131 Afghans returned from Pakistan, 85,821 of them deported, and 86,644 were arrested or detained there.

The United Nations has repeatedly called for returns to Afghanistan to be voluntary, safe and dignified.