The Trump administration plans to deport a number of Iranians and other migrants to Central African Republic, a chronically unstable country racked by violence and poverty, two lawyers and an official briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The Iranians include two women who face potential torture and persecution if they are forced to go back to Iran, their lawyer, Emily Trostle, said. One is a Christian convert and the other is a pro-democracy activist, she added.
Both the women were detained upon arriving in the U.S. in November 2024, Trostle said. They applied for asylum in the U.S. and had secured a form of protection known as withholding of removal from a U.S. immigration judge, Trostle said.
Obtaining that protection meant judges found they faced a risk greater than 50% of being persecuted or tortured in Iran.
The official briefed on the matter told Reuters the first flight to Central African Republic under the deal was expected to take about 20 people, also including Syrians and Afghans. The plane could leave as early as Thursday, the two lawyers said.
A Turkish national who fled political persecution and also had withholding of removal may be on board as well, said the person's lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The deportees will be held in apartments in Central African Republic's capital Bangui and are not expected to be repatriated immediately, the briefed official said.
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