Judge orders notice before US deportations to Iran

A federal judge in New York ordered the US government to provide 24-hour notice to the court before finalizing any plans to deport Iranian nationals to Iran or a third country.

The order, issued by Judge Ana Reyes, also requires five days of written notice before any such deportation is carried out. The ruling came as the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund revealed that at least a dozen Iranian detainees held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were told in the past week that they would be sent to Iran.

Some detainees were informed that their removal could occur as soon as Sunday. The legal group stated that none of the contacted individuals received written confirmation from immigration authorities. Yasmine Chubin, the executive director of the organization, said one detainee attempted suicide after learning of the potential return to Iran.

Court documents unsealed on Thursday show that the Trump administration maintained secret talks with Iran on deportation logistics even after the war in the region began. The filings indicate that US officials worked with Iranian representatives to submit travel documents and identify possible avenues for removal.

Justice Department attorney Dimitar Georgiev-Remmel told the court that no specific date had been set for the removals at the time of the hearing. He stated that the government was executing lawful orders of removal despite the ongoing conflict.

Reyes expressed concern about sending individuals to a country she described as a declared enemy and a target of US bombing. She warned that a failure to comply with her notice order would trigger contempt proceedings.

The lawsuit alleges that US immigration agencies have been sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government. The filing describes a coordinated effort to identify Iranians in US custody and pressure them to return, a move that departs from decades of diplomatic hostility between the two nations.

Emails exposed in the litigation show that more than 100 Iranians were flown back to Iran on three immigration flights between September 2025 and January 2026. The Department of Homeland Security has denied that it shares asylum application records with Tehran, though Reyes indicated she believed it was possible the government had shared such data.

The Justice Department filed a document on Wednesday arguing that the judge's order effectively acts as an injunction because of the threat of sanctions. The administration has previously deported Iranians to third countries such as El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Central African Republic to bypass diplomatic hurdles with Tehran.