Court Reveals Secret US-Iran Talks on Deporting Citizens During War
Unsealed documents show officials coordinated removals with Tehran while active hostilities continued, prompting new procedural orders from a federal judge.
By Jonathan Ramirez ·
Court documents unsealed Thursday reveal that the Trump administration negotiated with Iran regarding the deportation of its citizens while the two nations remained at war.
The filings indicate that as recently as mid-October, government officials maintained plans to send Iranians to an unnamed third country. The timing of these removals was not specified in the records.
Judge Ana Reyes ordered the government to provide 24-hour notice to the court before finalizing any deportation plans to Iran or another nation. She also required five days of written notice before any such removal is executed.
The administration kept in contact with Iranian officials throughout the conflict to manage travel documents and identify avenues for removal. The documents describe this coordination as a continuous process despite the active state of war between the two countries.
During an October 15 hearing, Judge Ana Reyes questioned the logic of sending people to a country the President described as lawless and an enemy of the United States. "We are at war with a country where the President of the United States has said, as recently as two or three days ago, if not yesterday, that it is essentially lawless .. A country that is an enemy of the United States, according to the current president. A country that, according to our president, murdered tens of thousands of protestors," Reyes stated.
She noted that returning individuals to that region posed a serious threat of certain death. Justice Department attorney Dimitar Georgiev-Remmel responded to the court, confirming, "Yes, your honor. The government is executing lawful orders of removal."
The discovery stems from a lawsuit alleging that immigration agencies shared confidential data about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government. The plaintiffs argue this practice violated national immigration regulations and endangered the applicants. The Department of Homeland Security denied sharing asylum application records with Tehran but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Emails exchanged between U.S. immigration officials showed the two governments worked together to arrange flights for more than 100 Iranians. These departures occurred on three immigration flights in September and December 2025 and in January 2026. Historically, deportations to Iran have been rare due to a lack of diplomatic relations and fears of persecution. Under the current administration, ICE has also deported individuals to third countries such as El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Central African Republic to bypass diplomatic hurdles.
