Court documents show US-Iran contacts over deportations during the war

The Trump administration maintained contacts with Iranian officials over deporting Iranians during the war, according to court documents unsealed Thursday. The contacts concerned submitting travel documents and identifying possible removal routes.

The documents show that, as recently as mid-October, the administration planned to deport Iranians through an unnamed third country. They did not establish when the removals would take place. Judge Ana Reyes ordered the government to give the court 24 hours' notice of finalized removal plans and five days' written notice before carrying out any such deportation.

The documents emerged in a lawsuit alleging that US immigration agencies shared confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with Iran, putting them at risk. The Department of Homeland Security has denied sharing asylum application records with the Iranian government.

A Justice Department lawyer told the judge that the government was executing lawful removal orders. DHS did not immediately respond to the news agency's request for comment on the latest documents.

Source: Michael Kunzelman and Rebecca Santana, Associated Press, carried by PBS News, November 5, 2026. Associated Press · Full text via PBS