Key Facts

• The unsealed court documents show that, as recently as mid-October, the administration said it planned to deport Iranians through an unnamed third country.
• A judge ordered the government to give the court 24 hours’ notice of finalized plans and five days’ written notice before carrying out a deportation.
• A Justice Department lawyer said no date had been set for the removals and that the government was carrying out lawful removal orders.
• The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund said at least 12 detainees were contacted by Iran’s representative office in Washington and told of a possible deportation flight through Pakistan.
• The legal group said none of the detainees it knew of had received written information about deportation from immigration authorities.
• The group’s executive director said one detainee attempted suicide after learning he might be returned to Iran.
• The lawsuit alleges that U.S. immigration agencies shared confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with Iran; the Department of Homeland Security has denied sharing asylum application records.