Third-Country Deportation Flights
US Deports Asylum Seekers to Central African Republic Including At-Risk Afghan
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Key Points
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The latest Central African Republic deportation flight carried 12 Afghans, 8 Iranians, and people from Nepal and Nicaragua, landing in Bangui.
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The Afghan man on the flight was identified by The New York Times as 'Khalil' and had been granted protection from deportation to Afghanistan due to Taliban persecution fears; his siblings had worked with the U.S. military—one brother served in the Afghan National Army, and another was US-trained as a pilot who was killed by the Taliban.
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Rights groups say these removals are enabled by secret agreements that have deported thousands to about two dozen countries that are not their own as part of a crackdown on asylum seekers, a practice described as a loophole by immigration lawyers.
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The August flight followed an earlier June CAR operation that carried about two dozen migrants, including an Iranian woman facing persecution; this marks the second CAR flight since June.
The Trump administration deported dozens of people to the Central African Republic in August, including an Afghan man in his early twenties who had been granted legal protection from deportation due to Taliban persecution threats. Al Jazeera reported the flight carried 12 Afghans, 8 Iranians, and people from Nepal and Nicaragua to Bangui. The Afghan man's family in Afghanistan had been threatened because his brothers worked with the U.S. military — one served in the Afghan National Army, the other was a U.S.-trained pilot killed by the Taliban.
Rights groups say the deportations exploit secret agreements that bypass normal asylum protections. The Frontier Post reports this marks the second flight to the Central African Republic since June, continuing a pattern that human rights lawyers describe as a loophole to indirectly return asylum seekers to countries they fled.
A Man Protected by U.S. Law, Deported Anyway
The Afghan identified by The Frontier Post as 'Khalil' had won legal protection from deportation to Afghanistan in U.S. court proceedings. His case highlighted Taliban violence against families of Afghan military personnel who worked with Americans. One brother died when the Taliban shot down his plane; another faced constant threats for his service. Despite these documented dangers, he was put on the August flight to the Central African Republic.
Secret Deals Enable Mass Removals to Third Countries
According to Al Jazeera, the U.S. has used undisclosed agreements to send thousands of asylum seekers to roughly two dozen countries not their own. Immigration lawyers call this a legal loophole that bypasses asylum protections. The deportees have no family ties, jobs, or citizenship status in these destination countries. The Frontier Post notes the practice accelerated under Trump administration policies targeting asylum seekers.
A Recurring Pattern of Central African Republic Flights
This August deportation follows an earlier June operation to the Central African Republic carrying about two dozen migrants, Al Jazeera reported. That flight included an Iranian woman facing government persecution. The two flights together show the administration is systematically using the Central African Republic as a deportation destination, despite most deportees having no connection to that country.
Advocacy Groups Challenge the Practice as Rights Violation
Human rights organizations have condemned the deportations as violations of U.S. asylum law and international refugee conventions. The Frontier Post reports legal experts argue that sending people to third countries they did not choose strips them of legal recourse. The groups say the practice especially harms vulnerable people like the Afghan whose own government allies were targeted by the Taliban.
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