Newly released emails reveal that U.S. immigration officials quietly cooperated with the government of Iran to deport Iranian nationals in late 2025 and early 2026. This coordination occurred despite mounting geopolitical tensions between the two nations and represents a significant shift in American foreign policy. The correspondence shows that Iranian officials exerted notable influence over the deportation lists, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accommodating last-minute adjustments requested by Tehran.
The internal communications detail how ICE personnel adjusted manifests at the behest of Iranian authorities. In late August, roughly a month before the inaugural deportation flight in September, an unnamed ICE official confirmed they had added several cases to the list at the request of the Iranian Embassy. Approximately one week later, another official with the same title adjusted the manifest again following a meeting with the "Director at the Iranian Embassy." This official noted that Iran had requested amendments to the previous manifest to expedite the overall removal process.
Just three days prior to the departure of the deportation flight on September 26, emails indicate that the Iranian Embassy was still actively lobbying for the addition of three more individuals. While some late-day requests on the actual day of departure were ultimately rejected, the flight that eventually left U.S. soil was significantly smaller than initially organized. Internal records show that maintaining these flights remained a top priority for ICE, even as agency officials acknowledged that Iranian citizens were actively fleeing their homeland during a deadly 12-day military conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran from June 13 to June 24, 2025. The deportation flights took off only months after a ceasefire was established.
This cooperation marks a stark departure from the decades-long U.S. policy of providing refuge to Iranian dissidents, political exiles, and others fleeing persecution since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Human rights advocates have strongly condemned the deportations, pointing to Iran's long history of violent persecution against women, political dissidents, and religious minorities. Critics question the ethics of returning individuals to such a regime, particularly under an agreement that Iranian officials acknowledged in September 2025 could result in the return of up to 400 Iranians. Iranian authorities stated at the time that the majority of those targeted had entered the U.S. illegally via the southern border with Mexico, while others faced separate immigration infractions.
In response to these disclosures, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement strongly denying any wrongdoing. DHS asserted that allegations claiming ICE shared confidential asylum application records with the Iranian government are entirely false, emphasizing that ICE routinely coordinates with foreign governments solely to secure necessary travel documents for detainees. The agency stated that it successfully removed 54 Iranian citizens during the operation, a group it described as including terrorists, human smugglers, and suspected foreign agents. DHS maintained that all deported individuals had been issued final orders of removal or granted voluntary departure, and had received full due process, though the department did not specify the exact timeframe of the removal mission.
The emails do not fully clarify the frequency of direct contact between U.S. authorities and the Iranian government. While some communications were routed through Qatari officials who helped coordinate and charter the flights through Doha, other records explicitly reference in-person meetings with the "Iranian delegation" and the embassy director. Furthermore, the documents leave it unclear whether the individuals repatriated had agreed to return or were forced. Previous reporting by The New York Times indicated that asylum-seekers were among those deported, some against their will. The chaotic nature of the operation is highlighted by an email from an unnamed U.S. official revealing that at least one person was deported by mistake. "An Iranian not included on the final manifest we sent to the Qatari MOI was boarded on the flight," the official wrote, prompting a colleague to reply, "I have no idea how the case/person got through on the plane."
The emails suggest that the push to execute these deportations originated from the highest echelons of the Trump administration, persisting even during the active exchange of military strikes in June 2025. Just days after President Donald Trump warned on social media on June 16 that "Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!", Todd Lyons, the former acting director of ICE, sent an email declaring the repatriation of Iranian immigrants a high "priority." The directive was sent to Marcos Charles, the head of removal operations, and other staff members.
Although an unnamed ICE official warned Charles that the ongoing conflict would make removals highly difficult because Iran was withholding travel documents, its airspace was closed due to bombings, and citizens were actively fleeing, Charles remained resolute. He instructed his staff to immediately formulate a plan to deport 58 Iranians who were already in ICE custody with final removal orders. "We need a plan forward ASAP," Charles wrote, while another redacted official urged colleagues to find a solution for what was deemed a "White House priority."
This aggressive push has drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups. Jamal Abdi, the president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), argued that the emails contradict the administration's public rhetoric of supporting the Iranian people against a repressive government. "It demonstrates that the top priority here was to kick out as many people as possible by whatever means necessary," Abdi said. Ryan Costello, NIAC's policy director, added that the documents "expose an operation that demands answers from the highest levels of government."
The emails also reveal that ICE officials arranged for Iranian government representatives to meet with detained individuals inside U.S. facilities for unspecified reasons. This aligns with statements from a separate lawsuit filed in July by an independent Iranian interest group, in which 11 detained Iranians claimed they were forced to meet with Iranian officials while in ICE custody. According to court declarations filed in Washington, D.C., these foreign officials possessed confidential details regarding the detainees' asylum claims. The lawsuit alleges that U.S. immigration agencies illegally shared sensitive asylum data with Tehran, violating federal regulations enacted in the late 1990s that strictly prohibit the disclosure of information that could identify an individual as an asylum-seeker. DHS has vehemently denied these allegations, reiterating that any claims of ICE sharing asylum records are false.
