U.S. immigration officials worked with Iran to deport more than 100 Iranians from the United States across three flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026, according to hundreds of emails obtained by the National Iranian American Council and made public Tuesday. The emails offer an unprecedented look at coordination between the two governments despite escalating tensions that included a 12-day military conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran in June 2025.
The correspondence shows that Iranian officials had direct influence over which Iranian immigrants were placed on deportation manifests, with ICE officials making last-minute changes to passenger lists at the embassy's request. The flights departed just months after the U.S. and Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Iran following the June conflict.
What the Right Is Saying
Administration supporters say cooperation with foreign governments on deportation logistics is standard practice and does not constitute endorsement of those countries' policies. They note that all deportations followed legal processes with final removal orders.
The emails show pressure to carry out deportations came from senior levels of the Trump administration, even during active hostilities. Todd Lyons, then-acting director of ICE, called repatriation of Iranian immigrants a "priority" in an email sent shortly after President Trump's June 16 warning that Americans should evacuate Tehran. In response, Marcos Charles, head of removal operations at ICE, directed staff to develop a plan for deporting 58 Iranians with final removal orders currently in agency custody.
"We need a plan forward ASAP," Charles wrote in one email. Another official whose name was redacted urged colleagues to "identify a solution for this White House priority."
Iranian officials acknowledged in September 2025 that as many as 400 Iranians could be returned under an agreement with the Trump administration, noting most had crossed into the U.S. from Mexico illegally while others faced separate immigration violations.
What the Left Is Saying
Human rights advocates and progressive groups say the emails reveal a deeply troubling collaboration that puts vulnerable immigrants at risk. Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, said the documents undermine the Trump administration's assertions that military action against Iran was meant to protect ordinary Iranians from a repressive regime.
"It demonstrates that the top priority here was to kick out as many people as possible by whatever means necessary," Abdi said in a statement. The organization obtained the emails through public records requests.
Critics point to ongoing concerns about due process, noting that some deportees were asylum-seekers who had fled persecution. A separate lawsuit filed in July by an Iranian interest group alleged that U.S. immigration agencies illegally shared confidential information about asylum applicants with the Iranian government. Eleven Iranians in ICE detention claimed they were forced to meet with Iranian officials while in custody, and those authorities knew intimate details about their asylum claims, according to sworn declarations filed in a Washington, D.C., court.
Immigration attorneys have raised alarms about federal regulations enacted in the late 1990s that prohibit sharing information revealing that a person applied for asylum. The Department of Homeland Security has disputed the lawsuit's allegations, stating: "These allegations that ICE shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are FALSE."
What the Numbers Show
The emails document three deportation flights carrying more than 100 Iranians total: one in September 2025, one in December 2025, and one in January 2026. At the time of the June conflict, ICE had 58 Iranians with final removal orders in its custody who were targeted for repatriation.
Internal communications reference Iranian officials' requests to add individuals to manifests just days before flights departed. One Sept. 26 email shows the Iranian Embassy was still making requests for three additional passengers three days before a scheduled flight, though an official noted those specific requests were denied.
At least one individual was deported who was not included on the final manifest sent to Qatari officials facilitating the flights through Doha: "An Iranian not included on the final manifest we sent to the Qatari MOI was boarded on the flight," one U.S. official wrote, with another responding, "I have no idea how the case/person got through on the plane."
The deportations marked a significant shift from decades of U.S. policy welcoming Iranian dissidents and exiles who fled following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Bottom Line
The emails provide documentary evidence of direct coordination between U.S. immigration officials and the Iranian government during a period of active conflict, raising questions about whether proper protocols were followed to protect vulnerable populations. The documents show Iranian Embassy officials successfully influenced passenger lists, met with detainees in U.S. custody, and coordinated logistics through Qatari intermediaries.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the released emails when contacted Tuesday afternoon. A separate lawsuit alleging improper sharing of asylum information remains pending in federal court, with DHS maintaining those allegations are false.
What to watch: Whether Congress will seek hearings on the deportation coordination, how courts rule on the ongoing litigation regarding alleged information-sharing, and whether additional flights transporting Iranian nationals from the U.S. are planned.