ICE Worked With Iran to Deport 100-Plus Nationals Under Trump
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Aug 20
ICE Worked With Iran to Deport 100-Plus Nationals Under Trump
3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Aug 20
Summary
Newly disclosed emails show ICE worked directly with Iranian officials to remove more than 100 Iranian nationals in 2025 and 2026, making those deportations a Trump administration priority.
Three flights in late 2025 and early 2026 carried the deportees, and the records show Iranian representatives sought last-minute manifest changes and faster removals that ICE often accommodated.
The cooperation continued even during the 12-day U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict in June 2025, despite Trump publicly warning people to evacuate Tehran.
ICE also arranged meetings between Iranian officials and detainees, prompting a lawsuit alleging asylum confidentiality breaches; DHS denies sharing confidential asylum records even as reports say some asylum seekers were deported against their will.