Flight lands in Bangui with Afghans, Iranians and other nationals
WASHINGTON — The United States deported dozens of people to the Central African Republic on Saturday, August 29, including a young Afghan man whose relatives supported American forces during the war in Afghanistan, according to lawyers and court records reviewed by The Associated Press.
The flight landed in Bangui carrying 12 Afghans and eight Iranians, along with several people from Nepal and Nicaragua, Savi Arvey of Human Rights First told the AP. The government has not released a complete passenger list or the terms governing what happens to the deportees after arrival.
That absence matters. These were third-country removals: people were sent to a nation other than their own. The Central African Republic is not the Afghan man's home country, and the AP report did not describe any prior connection between him and Bangui.
A judge protected him from return to Afghanistan
The Afghan man, who is in his early twenties, had received judicial protection against deportation to Afghanistan because of a feared threat from the Taliban, his attorney Alma David told the AP. That protection applied to Afghanistan; the current reporting does not say a judge separately barred his removal to the Central African Republic.
According to court records reviewed by the AP, the Taliban threatened the family because of his brothers' work supporting the U.S. military. One brother now lives in the United States after serving in the U.S.-aligned Afghan National Army, David said. Another brother was a U.S.-trained pilot who was killed by the Taliban, according to the attorney.
Those facts come from the man's lawyer and court documents described by the AP. The Department of Homeland Security did not provide a public, case-specific account reviewed for this report, and the man's name was not published.
Read the source: Reuters: Central African Republic agreed to accept U.S. third-country deportees ↗
The administration says third-country removals are lawful
The Trump administration has defended third-country deportations as lawful. In earlier reporting about the agreement with Bangui, the Department of Homeland Security told Reuters that deportees receive full due process while directing questions about the agreement itself to the State Department.
Reuters reported in June that the Central African Republic agreed to accept deportees of other nationalities as the administration expanded removal arrangements across Africa. Officials did not publicly disclose how many people the country would receive, how long they could stay or what legal status they would hold after arrival.
Rights organizations dispute the administration's assurances. They argue that opaque third-country arrangements can circumvent protections against sending people back to countries where U.S. courts determined they could face persecution or torture. That criticism is an allegation about the policy's operation, not a court ruling invalidating every third-country removal.
Read the source: Reuters: Earlier U.S. deportation flight to Central African Republic ↗
The United States itself warns Americans not to travel there
The State Department currently places the Central African Republic at Level 4, its highest travel-warning category, and tells U.S. citizens not to travel there because of unrest, crime, kidnapping, landmines, health risks and terrorism.
The advisory says the U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency help. American government employees need special authorization to leave Bangui, must travel in armored vehicles within the capital and are subject to a curfew.
A travel advisory written for U.S. citizens does not by itself determine whether a deportation is legal. It does, however, document the government's own assessment that conditions present severe safety risks and that even official personnel operate under restrictions.
Read the source: U.S. State Department: Central African Republic Level 4 travel advisory ↗
Critical questions remain unanswered
The administration has not publicly explained where Saturday's deportees are being housed, whether they may work or travel, how long they can legally remain in the Central African Republic or what prevents their eventual return to countries they fled.
There is no confirmed report that the Afghan man has been sent back to Afghanistan. Concerns about onward removal remain a risk raised by advocates, not a confirmed outcome.
The immediate confirmed facts are stark: a U.S. flight carried dozens of third-country deportees to Bangui; one young Afghan passenger came from a family that assisted American forces; and a U.S. judge had already recognized the danger of returning him to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. A policy this consequential requires public documentation, transparent safeguards and answers about what comes next.
Sources and further reading
Associated Press: U.S. deports Afghan from military-allied family to Central African Republic ↗
Reuters: Central African Republic agreed to accept U.S. third-country deportees ↗
Reuters: Earlier U.S. deportation flight to Central African Republic ↗
U.S. State Department: Central African Republic Level 4 travel advisory ↗
Human Rights Watch: Central African Republic as a destination for third-country deportees ↗
Wikimedia Commons: Bangui photograph and CC BY 2.0 license ↗