Migrants and asylum seekers deported to Panama seek help
President Donald Trump’s administration has begun outsourcing to fulfill its promise of mass deportations.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday, Dec. 7, that Iranians deported from the United States will return to their home country within days, the second deportation under President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration crackdown.
“About 55 nationals are scheduled to return to Iran in the coming days…This is the second group to return to Iran in recent months,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said, adding that the US deportations were based on “political grounds and anti-immigration policies that are contrary to international law.”
The New York Times reported on December 7 that a chartered plane carrying about 50 Iranians departed from an airport in Mesa, Arizona, and was scheduled to make stops in Egypt and Kuwait before arriving in Iran. USA TODAY has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
U.S. and Iranian officials told Reuters in September that about 400 Iranians were expected to be deported from the United States. The first flight, carrying 120 people, arrived in Qatar in late September and was then transferred to a flight to Tehran.
The group included both convicted criminals and undocumented immigrants, an anonymous U.S. official told Reuters at the time.
The deportation flights followed negotiations between Tehran and Washington, which have no formal diplomatic relations. Baghaei said the two countries had no direct means of communication, adding that the two countries communicated through their respective interest protection offices and intermediaries.
Baghai also criticized Washington for not facilitating visas for the entire Iranian soccer delegation for the World Cup draw, which was held on December 5 in Washington, D.C., at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where President Trump received the FIFA Peace Prize.
“We have expressed our protest against the US decision not to issue visas to our team sent to the World Cup draw,” Bagai said.
Iran applied for nine visas for the delegation, but Iranian Football Federation spokesman Amir Mehdi Alavi said the United States had granted only four, including for Ardeshir coach Amir Ghalenoei. The United States has had strict visa restrictions on Iranians for years.
Contributor: Charles Ventura, USA TODAY. Reuters
