The United States has deported a group of migrants — including nationals from Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Georgia — to the Central African Republic (CAR) under a newly established third-country agreement, lawyers familiar with the case confirmed .
The deportation flight departed from Alexandria, Louisiana, on Thursday evening and made a scheduled stopover in Ghana before continuing to CAR, according to ICE Flight Monitor data . Among those onboard are at least two Iranian women who had been granted “withholding of removal” — a legal protection previously considered a “win” in immigration court under past administrations .
Their attorney, Emily Trostle, expressed grave concerns: “These individuals are being removed from the United States and abandoned in a country where they have no status, no connection and no support network” .
The US State Department’s travel advisory for CAR reads: “Do not travel to Central African Republic for any reason,” citing widespread violence and instability . The impoverished nation has endured repeated cycles of unrest, with anti-government fighters and armed groups still active despite the presence of UN peacekeepers and Russian Wagner mercenaries .
Human rights groups have filed a lawsuit with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to halt such third-country deportations, which critics describe as opaque and potentially unlawful .
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which received $85 million in US funding this year, confirmed it will provide voluntary post-arrival humanitarian assistance in CAR’s capital, Bangui .
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