Judge temporarily bars Afghan removals to Afghanistan, Pakistan

A federal judge in New York temporarily barred the Trump administration from removing Afghan nationals to Afghanistan or Pakistan, requiring officials to honor the government’s representation that no such flights were planned or confirmed through the end of the week. U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni issued the temporary restraining order on November 3, following an emergency lawsuit by Project Rousseau, an immigrant legal-services nonprofit. The order covers removals to either country and does not decide whether the planned deportations are lawful or whether the administration may ultimately carry them out. At a hearing, government attorneys told the court that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no planned or confirmed chartered or commercial flights for Afghan removals to Afghanistan or Pakistan through at least the end of the week. The court required the administration to adhere to that representation. Government counsel also said such flights generally take weeks to arrange. Project Rousseau filed its lawsuit on November 2, seeking emergency protection for Afghan clients. The organization alleged that sending them to Afghanistan, directly or through Pakistan, could...