Iran says about 120 of its citizens are being deported from the United States and will return home this week.
Hossein Noushabadi, director general for parliamentary and consular affairs at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, told the Tasnim news agency that the group is part of about 400 Iranians that U.S. immigration authorities plan to deport. Most of these people entered the United States illegally, mostly through Mexico, he said.
According to Noushabadi, some of the deportees had valid permits to reside in the United States but were nevertheless placed on the deportation list after receiving their consent to repatriation.
This confirmation came after the New York Times, citing unnamed officials in Tehran, reported that a plane C of about a hundred Iranians left the U.S. state of Louisiana late in the evening of 29 September and was scheduled to arrive in Iran via Qatar the following day.
While the circumstances of their departure from Iran and arrival in the United States differ, Noushabadi said the men had left the country legally and that Iran “welcomes” their return, promising full consular support.
Human rights activists have criticised the US policy of expelling migrants to countries with problematic human rights records.
The human rights situation in Iran remains difficult, with widespread persecution of political dissidents, activists, religious minorities and LGBTQ individuals. Critics say the U.S. administration’s deportation campaign endangers vulnerable migrants by returning them to these conditions.
In recent years, many Iranians have joined large groups of migrants at the southern U.S. border, crossing illegally and subsequently applying for asylum. Many have cited persecution by the Islamic Republic because of their political or religious beliefs as the primary reason for fleeing Iran.
Despite these claims, most asylum requests were denied or not processed at the time of deportation.