Chicago – September 30, 2025
The United States has begun deporting hundreds of Iranian nationals under a rare agreement with Tehran, marking a notable development amid heightened immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump.
The first group of approximately 120 Iranians was deported on a chartered flight that departed from Louisiana and was scheduled to land in Iran via Qatar, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry official Hossein Noushabadi. In total, about 400 Iranians, most of whom entered the U.S. unlawfully—primarily through Mexico—are expected to be deported in the coming weeks.
This deportation initiative is part of the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on immigration, described by White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson as the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history.
Some deportees reportedly volunteered to leave after extended detention, while others did not. The U.S.-Iran cooperation in facilitating these deportations is unusual given the lack of formal diplomatic relations between the two nations and ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Iran has urged the U.S. to respect the rights and citizenship of Iranian migrants. The deportations have sparked concerns among human rights groups about the safety of returnees given Iran’s documented human rights abuses and use of the death penalty. Despite these worries, the U.S. government has pushed forward with the plan to deport undocumented Iranian immigrants at scale.
