US deports migrants, including Iranian activist, to CAR

US deports migrants, including Iranian activist, to CAR June 13, 2026The US has deported a number of migrants to the Central African Republic, one of the world's poorest and most troubled states, under a controversial deal that allows Washington to deport migrants who cannot be sent back to their home countries. The flight that took off from Louisiana on Thursday night was carrying some two dozen migrants, including an Iranian pro-democracy activist, her lawyer has said. It landed in Bangui on Friday. Other migrants set to be on the flight included nationals of Jordan, Armenia, Turkey, Georgia and Afghanistan, according to Ali Rahnama, interim executive director of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund. What else do we know about the US deportation flight to CAR? The deportation plane landed in the capital of the Central African Republic shortly before 10 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), after making a stop in Ghana's capital Accra, records of the ICE Flight Monitor managed by Human Rights First showed. No details were given on where the deportees would be housed or the duration of their stay in the Central African Republic. A source close to the US Embassy told the Associated Press that some of the migrants were temporarily staying at a firefighters' base near the embassy compound under construction in Bangui. Others were due to be housed at other locations. Upon their arrival, men and women were separated, the source added. "They have absolutely no connection to this place. In all of my filings I submitted tons of information about how this was super dangerous," Emily Trostle, the lawyer of the Iranian deported activist, told Reuters. "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. We fear they will ultimately be forced to return to the countries they originally fled," she added. Why was the Iranian pro-democracy activist deported from the US? Trostle said three Iranian women who had fled persecution at home were at risk of deportation but only one of them actually ended up on the deportation flight. The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund (IALDF) said they faced deportation after their asylum claims were denied for violating a rule which requires them to first apply in countries they transit through before reaching the US. The rule was vacated by a California federal court in May. The IALDF warned that deporting Iranians to the Central African Republic was "a potentially fatal action." It especially pointed to the close ties between the country's administration and Moscow, a solid intelligence ally of Iran. What are Washington's deportation deals with African, Latin American countries? The Trump administration signed a number of widely criticized deals with African and Latin American nations to take third-country deportees the US could not deport back to their home countries. The deals' legality has largely been questioned by rights groups, but Washington has insisted they are legally sound. The often-secret deals have been forged with countries such as the Central African Republic and Ghana, among at least seven other African nations. The US has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own, advocates say. Immigration lawyers accuse the Trump administration of using the deals as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers back to their home countries. Many of those deported had secured legal protections from US courts against their repatriation. The deals are seen as part of the Trump administration's wider crackdown on migrants. Don't let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google by clicking here and hitting the "star" or "preferred" button, so you'll always see our verified news first. Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez