The Taliban-controlled foreign ministry has called on the United States to act “responsibly” when deporting Afghan migrants. The request follows reports of US plans to deport a number of detained Afghans and transfer them to Afghanistan through Pakistan. Washington and the Taliban have no formal diplomatic relations, complicating direct returns to Afghanistan. Meanwhile, migrant advocacy organisations warn that those facing deportation have different circumstances and that some could face serious danger if returned.
In recent days, the issue has extended beyond US domestic migration policy into relations between Washington, Kabul and Islamabad. On Monday, 2 November, the Taliban-controlled foreign ministry said it was ready for “constructive” engagement with the US on the issue. It said discussions should recognise current realities and consider both sides’ legitimate interests.
The US has planned to deport a number of Afghans
Reuters reported on 30 October that Donald Trump’s administration had planned to deport a number of Afghan migrants from the US. A US official and a coalition of veterans and Afghan advocacy groups confirmed the plan. However, the US Department of Homeland Security provided no details about future deportation operations, saying it does not discuss them in advance for operational security reasons.
According to published reports, a number of the Afghans affected are in immigration detention in Louisiana. Court documents reviewed by the Associated Press also show that at least some are being considered for transfer to Pakistan and subsequent transfer to Afghanistan.
US media have reported the possible deportation of more than 150 Afghans . However, a distinction must be drawn between planned and completed deportations. At the time of publication, official sources had not fully confirmed the final number of people actually removed from the US in this operation.
Why is Pakistan involved?
One important aspect of this case is the proposed deportation route.
The US currently has no formal diplomatic relations with the Taliban. According to Reuters and court documents reported by AP, this means Washington cannot directly coordinate these transfers to Afghanistan in the same way it would with countries with normal diplomatic relations. The reported plan is to transfer people to Pakistan first and then send them to Afghanistan.
This prompted a response from the Taliban-controlled foreign ministry. Its statement said third countries should not turn the fate of another country’s citizens into a bargaining tool for limited, temporary concessions or other considerations. This appeared to refer to Pakistan’s role in the transfers, although Reuters reported that Pakistan was not named directly in that part of the statement.
The Taliban says it is ready for talks with the US
Kabul’s response was not limited to criticism. The Taliban-controlled foreign ministry also said it was prepared to engage with Washington.
The ministry said the Afghan side was ready for constructive engagement based on mutual understanding, taking account of “current realities” and both sides’ legitimate interests.
This position is diplomatically significant. The United States does not recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan’s official government, and the two sides have no normal diplomatic relations. Nevertheless, migrant deportations have created a practical issue that is difficult to manage without some coordination among the parties.
Who might be deported?
This requires considerable care. All Afghans living in the US should not be treated as one group.
The available reports concern people facing immigration removal proceedings. Their legal status, migration history and reasons for removal orders may differ. The available information therefore does not establish that all Afghans who arrived in the US after 2021, or everyone with a migration case, face deportation.
Shawn VanDiver, head of AfghanEvac, said many people facing deportation had fled Afghanistan after the Taliban’s return in 2021 and the withdrawal of US forces. He warned that those affected included family members of people who previously worked with US forces. This claim comes from AfghanEvac and should not be generalised to everyone facing deportation.
The central concern: what if a person faces danger in Afghanistan?
This is the case’s most important legal and humanitarian issue.
Migrant advocacy groups say some Afghans who arrived in the US after 2021 had left Afghanistan for fear of persecution, retaliation or security threats. They warn that returning some people could expose them to danger again.
However, each case must be assessed separately. The Associated Press reported that, at the time of its report, it was unclear whether those earmarked for deportation had specific legal protections prohibiting their return to Afghanistan.
This distinction matters. Afghan nationality, a removal order and the legal ability to return someone to a particular country are not identical issues. Migration cases may involve court orders, asylum applications, protections against return and other legal factors.
What does the Trump administration say?
The Trump administration’s broader policy focuses on stronger immigration enforcement and removing people whom the government considers to have no legal right to remain in the US.
Trump has presented migrant deportations as part of his agenda to strengthen domestic security and enforce immigration laws. Migrant rights groups and some government critics, in contrast, say aspects of the policy raise concerns about due process and individual rights.
The Department of Homeland Security has not commented on the details of future deportation flights. Some available information about numbers, flight schedules and transfer routes therefore comes from court documents, informed sources and migrant advocacy organisations rather than a full public announcement by the US government.
Afghan migration after 2021: an unfinished story
After the Taliban returned in August 2021 and US forces withdrew, thousands of Afghans left the country. They included people who had worked with US forces, international institutions, non-government organisations and foreign projects.
Many were transferred to the US, but they did not all have the same migration status. Some used special migration pathways, some applied for asylum, and others entered with temporary status.
Today’s debate is therefore about more than the deportation of a few people. It raises an older question once again: What responsibility does the US have towards Afghans who worked with American institutions during its twenty-year presence in Afghanistan?
Migrant advocacy groups believe Washington has a special moral obligation to some of these people. The US government, meanwhile, stresses that immigration laws must be enforced. These positions are now confronting each other again over Afghan deportations.
US deportation plans emerge as Afghanistan faces a large wave of returns
The timing of the plan also matters.
In 2026, Afghanistan has faced large-scale returns and deportations from neighbouring countries. According to the latest UNHCR data, by 24 October approximately 1.36 million Afghans had returned to Afghanistan from various countries this year. This includes voluntary returns, deportations and other types of return.
Of these, more than 619,000 people were specifically recorded as deportees . Approximately 547,100 were deported from Iran, 70,500 from Pakistan and 1,430 from Tajikistan.
This statistical distinction is important. The figure of 1.36 million does not mean 1.36 million deportations. It covers all types of return. The specific deportation figure as at that date was approximately 619,000.
How much capacity does Afghanistan have to receive returnees?
The return of hundreds of thousands of people places substantial pressure on a country already facing economic hardship, unemployment, food insecurity and limited services.
IOM reported that, from September 2023 to the end of August 2026, approximately 6.5 million Afghans returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan. The organisation says many returnees have limited access to housing, employment, services, civil documents and social support. Some have spent years, or even almost their entire lives, outside Afghanistan.
For these people, “returning to their country” does not necessarily mean returning to a familiar home. Someone who left Afghanistan as a child, or was born and raised in Iran, Pakistan or another country, may have no established social network, home or source of income in Afghanistan.
This is why international organisations have stressed the need to support both returnees and the communities receiving them.
Women and girls face different concerns
Returning Afghans presents additional issues for women and girls.
The Taliban’s restrictions on women’s and girls’ education, employment, movement and participation in public life have created particular human rights concerns about their return.
In reports on large-scale Afghan returns from neighbouring countries, UNHCR has also warned that women and girls are particularly concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement and fundamental rights such as education and employment.
Risk assessments therefore cannot be limited to physical safety. Gender, past activities, family circumstances and individual conditions may also affect the level of danger.
Pakistan is at the centre of a complex equation
Pakistan’s role in the reported US plan makes the issue more complicated.
On one hand, Washington may need Pakistan to transfer some deportees to Afghanistan. On the other, Pakistan itself has returned or deported hundreds of thousands of Afghans in recent years. Relations between Islamabad and the Taliban have also been tense in recent months. Pakistan accuses Kabul of sheltering militants who carry out cross-border attacks; the Taliban denies the allegation.
As a result, Afghan deportations from the US are not solely an issue between Washington and Kabul. Pakistan’s geography and relations with both sides have drawn it into the equation.
The Taliban-controlled foreign ministry’s statement that third countries should not use Afghan citizens’ fate as a bargaining tool was issued against this political backdrop.
What exactly does “responsible deportation” mean?
There is still no clear answer.
Reuters reported that the Taliban-controlled foreign ministry called on the US to deport Afghans “responsibly”, but the initial report did not specify which measures Kabul considered responsible deportation.
The phrase should therefore not be interpreted beyond the available information. It remains unclear whether the Taliban means individual case reviews, direct coordination of returns, transfer arrangements through Pakistan, guarantees for returnees or a combination of these.
What is clear is the stated readiness to talk with Washington.
An issue bigger than a single flight
At first glance, this news concerns a US immigration operation. More broadly, however, it links several major issues: tougher US immigration policy, the future of Afghans who left after 2021, the absence of diplomatic relations between Washington and the Taliban, Pakistan’s role and Afghanistan’s capacity to absorb a large wave of returnees.
For Afghan families, the debate has an immediate human dimension. Behind each migration case is a person who may have lived in the US for years, have a family or fear returning to Afghanistan. The US government, meanwhile, says it has the authority to enforce immigration laws and remove people without a right to remain.
The sensitive point, however, is where immigration enforcement intersects with the potential dangers of returning an individual.
The central question is therefore not simply whether the US can deport someone. More importantly, how are each person’s legal circumstances and risks assessed, what safeguards exist during transfer, and what legal protections are available if returning to Afghanistan would pose a serious danger?
With Afghanistan already facing the return of more than a million people this year, US plans to deport Afghans cannot be separated from the regional migration crisis. This is the latest part of a larger wave in which thousands of Afghan families are once again confronting difficult questions about staying, leaving and forced return.
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, UNHCR and IOM.
