A federal judge in New York on Tuesday, November 3, barred the Trump administration from deporting Afghan nationals to Afghanistan or Pakistan through Saturday, November 7. The temporary order interrupts a plan to send detained Afghans through Pakistan for onward transport to Afghanistan.
U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni issued the order after government lawyers told the court that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no planned or confirmed chartered or commercial flights to either destination before the week ended. The order makes that assurance binding for now, but does not resolve whether the proposed route complies with immigration law or protections for people who fear persecution.
The dispute accelerated after Project Rousseau, a New York immigrant legal-services nonprofit, sued Monday on behalf of Afghan clients who said removal could be imminent. Earlier court filings described a planned charter from Alexandria, Louisiana, to Pakistan, followed by transport to Afghanistan. A letter signed by 66 members of Congress also raised concerns about the detainees’ fate and Pakistan’s role.
Advocates and lawmakers warned that return could expose some Afghans to serious danger, including people with family ties to Afghans who assisted U.S. forces. The administration’s proposed route puts Pakistan between U.S. custody and a country governed by the Taliban.
For detainees, the order buys time, not release: it does not itself end detention or decide individual immigration claims. Its brief duration also leaves the administration’s broader authority to use Pakistan as a transit country unresolved. Unless extended, the block expires November 7, and the court fight will continue.