ICE coordinated with Iran to facilitate deportation flights

Internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) emails, obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests by the National Iranian American Council, reveal that agency officials coordinated with the Iranian government to organize three charter deportation flights. These flights transported more than 100 Iranian nationals to Tehran between May and November of last year.

Operating under the direction of then-Acting Director Todd Lyons, ICE officials reportedly worked with Iranian authorities, sometimes using Qatari intermediaries, to facilitate the removals. The documents indicate that the administration faced pressure to execute these flights while the United States was simultaneously preparing for military action against Iran.

The deportations represent a significant shift in long-standing U.S. policy, as Iranian citizens were historically permitted to remain in the U.S. despite removal orders due to fears of persecution by the Iranian regime. The released records also detail instances of detainees being transported against their will and an incident where an incorrect individual was placed on a deportation flight.