Court records reveal secret US-Iran deportation talks during active war
Documents show the Trump administration coordinated with Tehran on removing Iranians while hostilities continued, prompting a judge to demand advance notice for future deportations.
By David Marshall ·
The Trump administration engaged in secret negotiations with Iran to deport Iranian nationals while the two countries remained at war, court documents revealed Thursday. These records, unsealed in a federal lawsuit, detail how U.S. officials coordinated with Tehran on the removal of Iranians despite active hostilities.
The filings indicate the government maintained contact with Iranian authorities as recently as mid-October 2026. The administration discussed plans to deport Iranians through an unnamed third country, though the timeline for these removals remained unclear. The documents specify that officials worked on submitting travel documents and identifying possible avenues for removal during the conflict.
Judge Ana Reyes expressed skepticism about the strategy during a hearing on October 15. She noted that the United States is at war with a country the president has described as essentially lawless and an enemy. Reyes questioned why the U.S. would send individuals to a region facing a serious threat of certain death. The Justice Department attorney, Dimitar Georgiev-Remmel, responded that the government is executing lawful orders of removal.
The judge ordered the government to provide 24 hours of notice to the court before finalizing plans to deport Iranians to Iran or any other country. The administration must also submit five days of written notice before carrying out any such deportation. This procedural requirement aims to give the court time to review the safety and legality of the removals.
The discovery emerged from a lawsuit alleging that immigration agencies shared confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government. The plaintiffs argue this practice violates national immigration regulations and endangers Iranians. The Department of Homeland Security denied sharing asylum application records with Tehran, but the new documents show coordination continued during the war.
Hundreds of emails between U.S. immigration officials exposed a collaborative effort to identify Iranians in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The records show the two governments worked together to arrange for more than 100 Iranians to be flown back to Iran. These departures occurred on three immigration flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026.
Deporting Iranians to their home country has historically been rare due to the lack of diplomatic relations and the risk of persecution. The U.S. and Iran have generally maintained icy or no diplomatic ties. Under the current administration, ICE has pushed to deport people even from nations that typically refuse to take them back or with whom the U.S. has strained relations.
The administration has also deported individuals to countries where they have no connection, bypassing diplomatic hurdles with home governments. During Trump’s second term, countries including El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama have accepted noncitizens from the U.S. In June, an Iranian woman was among two dozen migrants deported to the Central African Republic.
Activists have raised concerns about deportees returning to Iran, where the theocracy is cracking down on intellectuals and dissent. The government vociferously suppresses opposition, increasing the risk for those sent back. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the newly unsealed documents.
