Trump Administration Plans to Deport Iranian Migrants to Central Africa

The administration of United States President Donald Trump is planning to deport a number of Iranian migrants and migrants from other countries currently in the US to the Central African Republic, a nation perpetually unstable and plagued by violence and poverty. The plan, as reported by Reuters on Friday (12/6/2026), was disclosed to the public by two lawyers representing the migrants and an official briefed on the matter. One of the lawyers assisting the migrants, Emily Trostle, stated that the Iranian migrants facing deportation include two women who confront potential torture and persecution if forced to return to Iran. The US State Department and the presidency of the Central African Republic have not yet commented on the report. However, the Central African Republic recently reached an agreement to accept what are termed third-country deportations from the US. The two Iranian women, Trostle said, were detained after arriving in the US in November 2024. According to Trostle, they applied for asylum in the US and have obtained a form of protection known as withholding of deportation from a US immigration judge. Securing that protection means the judges found they face a risk exceeding 50 per cent of being persecuted or tortured in Iran. Separately, an official briefed on the issue told Reuters that the first flight to the Central African Republic under the agreement is expected to carry around 20 migrants, including those from Syria and Afghanistan. The plane could reportedly depart as early as Thursday (11/6) local time. The two lawyers cited by Reuters added that a Turkish migrant who fled political persecution and has withholding of deportation may also be on the flight. According to the official cited by Reuters, the deported migrants will be detained in apartments in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, and are not expected to be repatriated soon. The official also mentioned that hundreds of migrants could eventually be deported there under the agreement. This situation unfolds as the Trump administration utilises third-country deportation agreements to remove individuals who cannot be legally returned to their home countries. US authorities defend such agreements as legally valid, although human rights groups and advocates say the details of the deals are unclear and many of those deported are ultimately repatriated.