US Court Temporarily Halts Deportation of Afghan Nationals

DID Press: A federal judge in New York has issued a temporary order barring the Donald Trump administration from deporting Afghan migrants until the end of this week.

US District Judge Valerie Caproni issued the order after government lawyers told the court that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had no scheduled or approved charter or commercial flights to deport Afghan nationals to Afghanistan or Pakistan, at least through the end of the week.

According to US Department of Justice documents, dozens of Afghan migrants were due to be deported this week. Those potentially affected include relatives of Afghans who worked alongside US military personnel during the American mission in Afghanistan.

In her written order, Judge Caproni stressed that the US government must honour the commitments made in court and refrain from arranging any flights to deport Afghan nationals to Afghanistan or Pakistan while the temporary order remains in effect.

The order is valid until next Saturday.

Sean VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, an organization supporting Afghans evacuated following the US withdrawal, described the decision as a temporary reprieve for Afghan migrants, stressing that it does not represent a final resolution of their cases.

He said efforts by US military veterans, civil society activists, 66 members of Congress and thousands of American citizens had helped bring about the suspension of the deportation flights.