Based on ICE planning to deport Afghans through Pakistan, official says · CBS News, Nov 2, 2026, 21:27 ET
Explain the Big Deal: Courts and officials are still deciding whether the removals can go ahead, and whether Pakistan has agreed to receive the Afghans.
What happened?
U.S. immigration officials are planning to deport nearly 200 Afghan nationals by sending them first to Pakistan, then overland to Afghanistan, according to a U.S. official. The plan is still changing, and it is not clear when the flights could happen. One scheduled flight was originally set to leave Alexandria, Louisiana, on Nov. 3, but court filings said the route would go to Pakistan instead of directly to Afghanistan.
Who is involved and why does it matter?
The people involved are Afghans in ICE custody who the government says violated U.S. immigration law, along with judges, lawyers, and advocacy groups challenging the removals. The plan matters because advocates say some deportees could face Taliban persecution, especially those or whose relatives had ties to the U.S. war effort. The Afghan Taliban's foreign ministry also said it was concerned about the reports, while DHS said deportees sent to a third country receive notice and assurances, though it did not say whether Pakistan had provided them for this case.
What is the broader context?
The broader context is the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, after which many Afghans came to the United States through resettlement programs or by other routes. The U.S. closed its Kabul embassy and does not have diplomatic relations with the Taliban government, which makes direct deportations to Afghanistan difficult. The case also fits into wider disputes over third-country removals, where the government sends noncitizens to a different country before they reach their final destination.
What happens next?
Next, federal courts may decide whether specific detainees can be removed and whether the government must explain the plan more fully. One Afghan man, Said Mansor Sadat, was removed from the flight list and released after a judge found his detention violated due process, while another was still seeking emergency relief. Congress members and advocates are also pressing the administration to cancel the flights, but DHS and the State Department have not publicly resolved the questions about Pakistan's role.
Written by the Explain the Big Deal template from the article above. An AI summary: read the full story at the source.
Watch the Night news, Nov 2, 2026, 22:00 ET video · Run the same questions on any article with SoWhatify for Chrome, free.