Courts pause Afghan deportations to Pakistan
Two federal judges issued temporary orders this week to stop flights for Afghan nationals, citing mental health risks and lack of direct routes to their home country.
By Emmanuel Faure ·
Afghan nationals scheduled for deportation to Pakistan found themselves grounded this week after federal judges in New Mexico and New York issued temporary restraining orders. The legal moves prevent the U.S. government from flying these individuals to their home country via a third nation, a process that had been set in motion for several detainees.
In New Mexico, a judge halted the removal of Sardar Akbari, a 31-year-old man held at the Torrance County Detention Facility in Estancia. The order pauses his deportation for 14 days. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, the government must first establish adequate safeguards to protect Akbari against the risk of suicide. The organization reported that Akbari suffered an acute mental health crisis after learning of the plan to send him to Pakistan.
The route through Pakistan was selected because the U.S. maintains no diplomatic relations with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, making direct flights difficult to arrange. The State Department currently lists Afghanistan under a Level 4 do not travel advisory, citing civil unrest, crime, terrorism, and the risk of wrongful detention.
In New York, Judge Valerie Caproni issued a similar order on Tuesday. Her ruling stops deportation flights from taking off until Sunday. This temporary measure does not permanently end the practice of removing Afghans through Pakistan, but it delays the immediate departures.
Akbari has been in the custody of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement since late 2024. On October 27, officials transported him from the Torrance County facility to Camp East Montana in El Paso. This facility is the nation's largest immigrant detention center. Court documents state the move was made to prepare him for deportation.
Shaw Drake, an assistant professor of Law at the University of New Mexico, represented Akbari alongside the ACLU. In a statement, Drake described the case as a window into the horrors of the immigration system, particularly regarding third country removals. She argued that deporting vulnerable immigrants without notice or the opportunity to claim fear renders due process safeguards meaningless.
Camp East Montana has faced scrutiny over medical neglect, coercive removals, and inhumane confinement. A July report by the ACLU noted three detainee deaths and an alleged riot at the site. The El Paso City Council voted unanimously on October 27 to draft a resolution calling for the center's closure, a decision that rests with the federal government.
