Women Who Fled Iran Are to Be Deported to Central African Republic, Lawyers Say
The New York Times • • world
Key Points:
- The Trump administration plans to deport nearly two dozen migrants, including at least two Iranian women, to the Central African Republic on Thursday, marking the first such deportation to the conflict-ridden and impoverished country.
- Some of the migrants have U.S. court orders protecting them from deportation to their home countries due to risks of persecution or torture, but the administration is circumventing these orders by arranging deportations to third countries willing to accept them.
- The Iranian women, who have no criminal records and court protection against deportation to Iran, were reportedly in shock upon learning they would be sent to the Central African Republic, a nation deemed unsafe by the U.S. State Department.
- The U.S. government has been negotiating agreements with multiple countries, including Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and Eswatini, to accept migrants who cannot be deported directly to their home countries under U.S. law.