US Deports Afghan Citizen to Central African Republic

DID Press: The administration of US President Donald Trump has deported dozens of migrants to the Central African Republic, including an Afghan citizen whose family members had worked alongside US forces.

Alma David, the Afghan citizen’s lawyer, said the man is in his early 20s and that a US judge had previously blocked his deportation to Afghanistan because returning him there was considered a threat to his life due to the risk of persecution by the Taliban.

Migrant rights groups, including AfghanEvac, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights First, have confirmed the deportation of the Afghan citizen to the Central African Republic.

According to court documents, members of his family in Afghanistan had been threatened by the Taliban because his brothers worked with US forces. One of his brothers lives in the United States and previously served in the Afghan National Army. Another brother, a US-trained pilot, was killed by the Taliban.

According to Human Rights First, the deportation flight landed in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, on Saturday and reportedly carried Afghan and Iranian nationals, as well as migrants from Nepal and Nicaragua.

The organization said the flight was the third US deportation flight to the Central African Republic this year. The Trump administration has sent thousands of migrants to third countries with which they have no direct ties under agreements reached with those governments.

Meanwhile, the US State Department has warned American citizens against traveling to the Central African Republic because of risks including civil unrest, crime, kidnapping, health concerns and terrorism.