At least eight Iranian detainees were loaded onto a plane in Mesa, Arizona, Sunday morning for a flight to Georgia, then Pakistan, and ultimately — their attorney says — Iran, a country the U.S. is at war with. The flight was canceled without explanation.
Why it matters
It would have been, per the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, the first deportation to Iran since the war began in February. Some of those targeted are asylum seekers whose confidential claims, the group alleges, were shared with Iranian officials.
What happened
IALDF attorney Ali Rahnama told the AP that a senior official from the Iranian Interests Section — Iran’s consular office inside Pakistan’s embassy in Washington — visited the detainees and told them Iran’s government would fly them from Pakistan to Iran. ABC News reports the plane was “ready for takeoff” before the cancellation and the detainees were returned to detention. IALDF’s overnight filing said 11 people — 10 men and one woman — were scheduled.
At least one person on the flight had volunteered to return after nearly two years in detention, Rahnama said, out of desperation.
The court fight
IALDF sued in July (IALDF v. Rubio, D.D.C.). At an October hearing, DOJ attorney Dimitar Georgiev told the court: “The answer in August was no. Today that answer has changed and it is yes.”
U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes responded: “It is like saying we have individuals in 1942 in this country that we are going to send back to Nazi Germany.”
Reyes ordered 24 hours’ notice of any finalized removal plan and five days’ written notice before any removal. IALDF argued Sunday the administration may have violated that order. The government filed documents later Sunday — under seal.
The government’s line
DHS told the AP that ICE does not comment on “prospective removal operations” and added: “As promised, the Trump Administration is employing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history.” The AP notes three flights to Iran between September 2025 and January 2026 removed more than 100 Iranians.
What’s next
Watch the sealed filings and whether Reyes holds a hearing or issues a contempt warning, as she threatened in October.
Our view
We think the most chilling detail isn’t the route through Pakistan — it’s an Iranian official visiting people who sought asylum from that very government. Waging war on Iran while handing it the people who fled it isn’t tough immigration policy; it’s moral blindness. And on the same Sunday the president told TV viewers deportations might be “too tough,” the plane in Mesa didn’t seem to get the message.
FAQ
How many people? At least eight boarded, per AP; IALDF’s court filing cited 11.
Why was it canceled? No official reason; the government’s filings are sealed.
Can the court block removals to Iran? Reyes hasn’t ruled on the merits but requires advance notice of any removal.
Read also
- ICE detains an 8-year-old after a San Diego check-in
- Deportations after the midterms: Mullin, ICE and Democrats
- U.S. disables the Huda as the Hormuz blockade goes to sea
Sergey Danilov
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