Emails released Tuesday show that U.S. immigration officials worked directly with the government of Iran to coordinate the deportation of more than 100 Iranians on three separate flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026, marking a significant shift from decades of U.S. policy welcoming Iranian dissidents and exiles.
The correspondence, obtained by the National Iranian American Council through a public records request, offers the most detailed account yet of how the two governments coordinated deportations during a period of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, including a 12-day military conflict in June 2025.
What the Right Is Saying
Defenders of the deportation effort argue the Trump administration was simply enforcing U.S. immigration law as written, and that coordination with foreign governments on repatriation logistics is standard practice. DHS officials emphasized that working with foreign officials on flight arrangements does not itself constitute improper conduct.
Former ICE acting Director Todd Lyons framed the Iranian deportations as a priority in internal communications obtained by AP, writing in June 2025 that repatriation efforts should continue despite operational challenges posed by the ongoing conflict. "We need a plan forward ASAP," removal operations chief Marcos Charles wrote to staff at the time.
Conservative commentators have pointed out that many of those deported had entered the U.S. illegally through Mexico and had exhausted legal options for remaining in the country. "The administration is removing people who violated immigration laws, period," one senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
What the Left Is Saying
Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, said the emails undermine assertions that U.S. military action against Iran was intended to protect ordinary Iranians from a repressive government. "It demonstrates that the top priority here was to kick out as many people as possible by whatever means necessary," Abdi said.
Human rights advocates have raised concerns about deportations to Iran given its documented pattern of persecution targeting women, religious minorities and political dissidents. The 11-page email chain shows Iranian officials were allowed access to immigration detainees in U.S. custody, a practice critics say raises serious due process issues.
Lawmakers including Representative Delia Ramirez and Senator Chris Murphy have called for investigations into whether administration officials violated federal regulations prohibiting the sharing of asylum application information with foreign governments. "These deportations may have exposed vulnerable individuals to real danger," Ramirez said in a statement last month.
What the Numbers Show
More than 100 Iranians were deported across three flights departing in September 2025, December 2025 and January 2026, according to email records. Iranian officials estimated in September 2025 that as many as 400 additional Iranians could be returned under the agreement with the Trump administration.
At the time of the June conflict, ICE reported having 58 individuals with final removal orders in its custody who were eligible for deportation to Iran. One person was deported despite not appearing on the final manifest sent to Qatari officials responsible for chartering flights through Doha, emails show. "I have no idea how the case/person got through on the plane," one unnamed U.S. official wrote.
Federal regulations enacted in the late 1990s prohibit government agencies from sharing information that could reveal a deportee applied for asylum. A lawsuit filed in July alleged ICE shared confidential asylum-seeker data with Iranian officials; DHS called those allegations "FALSE."
The Bottom Line
The emails represent the first concrete documentation of direct U.S.-Iranian cooperation on immigration enforcement, an area where analysts expected conflict rather than collaboration during a period of active hostilities. The coordination continued even as ICE officials acknowledged internally that Iranians were fleeing their country amid the June 2025 strikes.
House and Senate investigators have requested access to the email records. A DHS spokesperson said the agency does not comment on pending congressional inquiries. What happens next likely depends on whether investigators find evidence that federal regulations prohibiting information-sharing with foreign governments were violated during the coordination process, according to immigration law experts tracking the case.