abandoned in a country where they have no status, no connection
An Iranian activist with a court-granted withholding of removal order was deported despite legal protections against persecution in her home country. The Central African Republic has a Level 4 travel advisory; the State Department instructs Americans there to draft wills and leave DNA samples for identification.
- Roughly 20 migrants deported to Central African Republic on Friday, including an Iranian pro-democracy activist
- The activist had a court-granted withholding of removal order—legal protection against persecution in Iran
- Central African Republic has Level 4 State Department travel advisory; Americans there are instructed to draft wills and leave DNA samples
- Administration has negotiated third-country deportation agreements with dozens of nations across Africa and Latin America
The Trump administration deported roughly 20 migrants, including a legally protected Iranian pro-democracy activist, to the Central African Republic—a country the U.S. warns citizens not to visit due to violence and instability.
On Friday, the Trump administration put roughly twenty migrants on a plane bound for the Central African Republic—a country so dangerous that the U.S. State Department warns its own citizens not to travel there for any reason. Among them was an Iranian woman who had already won legal protection in an American immigration court.
The woman, represented by lawyer Emily Trostle, had been granted what's called a "withholding of removal" order. This is a specific legal shield: it means a judge determined she would more likely than not face persecution if sent back to Iran. Under U.S. law, such an order is supposed to prevent exactly this kind of deportation. Yet on the day before her flight, she learned she was being sent to a country where she had never lived, had no family, spoke no language, and had no legal status. Trostle says DHS ignored requests for her client to speak with an asylum officer about her fears. The woman was not alone. Two other Iranian women—both Christian converts who fled religious persecution—were transported to Louisiana for the same flight, though they were ultimately not put on the plane.
The Central African Republic is one of the world's poorest nations, ravaged by decades of armed conflict, human rights abuses, and political collapse. The State Department's travel advisory is unsparing: "Do not travel to Central African Republic for any reason." Americans stationed there are instructed to draft wills, establish "proof of life" protocols with family members, and leave DNA samples with medical providers in case they go missing and need to be identified by their remains. This is the destination the administration chose for these twenty people.
Among the deportees were migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Armenia, and Iraq. A DHS spokesperson, asked about the legality of the move, responded with a statement that seemed to acknowledge the administration's broader strategy: those deported "could end up in CECOT, GITMO, or another third countries." CECOT is a notorious prison in El Salvador where hundreds of migrants were held in the early months of this administration. The statement emphasized that the administration is "utilizing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history."
What makes this deportation significant is not just its destination but what it reveals about how the administration is reinterpreting the law. Withholding of removal technically allows the government to deport someone to a third country—just not to the place they fled. Historically, people granted this protection were allowed to stay in the U.S. with work permits. But the Trump administration has decided to exploit that technical loophole, systematically deporting protected migrants to countries where they have no ties, no support, and no legal standing.
The Central African Republic is not an isolated case. The administration has negotiated agreements with dozens of countries across Africa and Latin America to accept deportees who are not their own citizens. South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have all agreed to take in people deported by the U.S. Many of these countries are themselves wracked by violence, civil unrest, and political instability. Some have already returned deportees to their home countries, even when those individuals claimed they fled violence or persecution there.
Trostle's statement captures the bind these deportees now face: "Despite being granted withholding of removal, these individuals are being removed from the United States and abandoned in a country where they have no status, no connection and no support network. We fear they will ultimately be forced to return to the countries they originally fled." It is a legal protection that has become, in practice, no protection at all. What happens to these twenty people in the Central African Republic remains unclear—and that uncertainty may be the point.
Notable Quotes
Despite being granted withholding of removal, these individuals are being removed from the United States and abandoned in a country where they have no status, no connection and no support network. We fear they will ultimately be forced to return to the countries they originally fled.— Emily Trostle, immigration lawyer representing the Iranian activist
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
How is it legal to deport someone who has a court order saying they can't be deported to their home country?
The withholding of removal order only shields you from being sent back to the country you fled. It doesn't prevent the government from sending you somewhere else. It's a technical loophole, and this administration is driving a truck through it.
But these people have no connection to the Central African Republic. They've never lived there. They don't speak the language.
Exactly. That's the point. They're being abandoned in a place where they have no legal status, no family, no support system. The fear is that without any way to survive there, they'll be forced to find their own way back to the countries they fled—which defeats the entire purpose of the withholding order.
Why would the Central African Republic agree to this?
The administration has negotiated agreements with dozens of countries to accept deportees. Some are poor nations that may have been offered incentives. Others may not have the capacity to refuse or enforce their own immigration laws. What's unclear is what happens once these people arrive—whether the country will process them, detain them, or simply let them fend for themselves.
Is there any precedent for this?
Not at this scale. Historically, people granted withholding of removal were allowed to stay in the U.S. with work permits. This administration is treating it as a temporary legal status to be exploited, not a protection to be honored. It's a fundamental shift in how the law is being applied.
What's the risk for the people being deported?
They could end up stateless in a country with active armed conflict and no way to support themselves. Some third countries that have made similar agreements with the U.S. have already sent deportees back to their home countries, even when those people said they fled violence there. It's a cycle that defeats the entire asylum system.