KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A bipartisan group of 66 members of the US Congress called on the Trump administration to cancel plans to deport more than 150 Afghans, warning that sending them back could put their lives at risk under Taliban rule.
In a letter dated November 2 to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the lawmakers, led by Representative Scott Peters of California, urged an immediate halt to any deportation flights carrying Afghans or Iranians, either directly or through third countries.
The appeal follows reports that US authorities plan to transfer more than 150 detained Afghans from Louisiana to Pakistan before arranging their return to Afghanistan. The first flight could take place as early as Tuesday, November 3, The New York Times reported.
The group includes family members of Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the 20-year military presence in Afghanistan, as well as individuals who could face reprisals because of their backgrounds or perceived connections to the former government, according to the report.
“Sending dozens of people back to one of the most dangerous countries on earth, and where they are likely to be targeted for their or their family’s suspected support of the U.S. government or criticism of the Taliban, is a death sentence,” the letter said.
The lawmakers cited the US State Department’s Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory for Afghanistan, saying some Afghans who assisted US forces and were left behind during the 2021 evacuation had gone into hiding, faced persecution and, in some cases, been killed.
“Our nation made a promise to stand by Afghans who risked their lives and their families’ safety to stand by U.S. service members,” they said, adding that deporting them “is a violation of that promise and our moral obligations to the Afghan community who stood alongside our troops.”
The lawmakers warned that dissidents, members of the LGBTQ community and others who do not conform to the Taliban’s restrictive policies could face torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings if returned to Afghanistan.
They also urged the administration to make clear to Pakistan that the United States would not accept its participation in transferring the deportees to the Taliban. They said the United States remained responsible for preventing the return of individuals to countries where they could face torture, adding that routing deportations through a third country would not remove that obligation.
The Trump administration has not officially announced the plan, and Pakistan has not publicly confirmed any role in the reported arrangement.
Earlier, several lawmakers, including Senators Chris Coons, Jeanne Shaheen, Tim Kaine and Richard Blumenthal, had previously criticized the reported deportations, warning that returning them would put them in danger and undermine US commitments to former Afghan allies.
Meanwhile, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it was ready to engage with Washington over the return of Afghan nationals. The ministry called for a responsible approach and warned against third countries bargaining over the fate of Afghan citizens for “short-term political gains.”
