US lawmakers ask Trump administration to stop deportation of Afghans

What the report says

A bipartisan group of 66 US lawmakers has asked the Trump administration to stop a planned deportation of Afghans, according to Al Jazeera. The letter, sent Monday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, says at least 150 Afghans were facing removal from detention facilities in Louisiana, with a planned transfer to Pakistan and possible onward return to Afghanistan.

The lawmakers said many of those at risk had worked with coalition forces, the former Afghan government, or US-linked efforts before the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. Advocacy groups told Al Jazeera that some detainees may not have had adequate legal help to contest their cases. Rights organizations also said the deportation plan fits into a broader Trump administration practice of sending people to third countries when direct removal to their home country is not possible.

Al Jazeera reported that Afghanistan remains under Taliban rule and that the US has no diplomatic relations with the country, raising concerns among critics that returnees could face persecution. The article says the administration has also recently narrowed protections for Afghans in the US, including pausing some immigration processing and limiting asylum access. For Afghan evacuees, the case highlights the unresolved status of many people brought to the US after the 2021 evacuation, some of whom remain in immigration limbo while their protection claims move slowly through backlogged courts.