Published • loading... • Updated
A quiet channel between ICE and Iran shaped deportation flights, newly released emails show
Emails show ICE accepted Iranian requests on deportation lists as more than 100 people were sent back on three flights.
- Newly released emails reveal ICE coordinated with Iran to deport more than 100 Iranians across three flights in 2025, with Iranian officials influencing deportation lists and requesting last-minute changes to manifests.
- Pressure to execute these deportations came from the highest levels of the Trump administration during a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in June 2025. Former acting ICE director Todd Lyons called the repatriation of Iranian immigrants a "priority" in an email.
- Iranian officials handpicked some deportees, and ICE officials accommodated requests to amend manifests. "Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases," one official wrote in late August.
- Human rights activists criticize the deportations to a country with a pattern of violent persecution against political dissidents. Homeland Security denied allegations of sharing asylum records, calling such claims "FALSE" in a July statement.
- Documents indicate as many as 400 Iranians could be returned under an agreement with the Trump administration. These deportations mark a departure from decades-long U.S. practices of welcoming dissidents since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Insights by Ground AI
14 Articles
14 Articles
A US-Iran channel shaped deportation flights as Tehran picked who was sent back
Newly released emails reveal U.S. immigration officials worked with Iran to deport Iranians in 2025 and 2026. Iranian officials influenced deportation lists and expedited removal processes for detainees. These flights occurred after a recent war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. The deportations marked a shift from past U.S. policy towards Iranian dissidents. Human rights activists criticized the deportations to a country with a history of per…
·India
Read Full Article
Associated Press News+12 Reposted by 12 other sources
A quiet channel between ICE and Iran shaped deportation flights, newly released emails show
Emails reveal that Iranian officials had significant influence over which Iranian immigrants in the U.S. were sent back to their home country in 2025, despite tensions between the countries.
·New York, United States
Read Full ArticleCoverage Details
Total News Sources14
Leaning Left6Leaning Right1Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 43%
C 50%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
