Donald Trump serre la vis en matière migratoire. The US president’s administration is preparing to return Afghan immigrants to their country of origin, a US official and a coalition of former military personnel and human rights organizations said on Friday, relayed by Reuters.

Shawn VanDiver – who leads #AfghanEvac, a coalition helping Afghan refugees – specifies that many of the people targeted had left Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power and the departure of American troops in 2021. Among them are “brothers and sons of men who fought alongside American forces, families that the Taliban already have every reason to target”he says.

According to the New York Timesplus de 150 Afghans seraient concernés, ce qui ferait de cette opération l’un des plus importants renvois d’Afghans depuis les États-Unis. The daily reports that the administration has already arrested several dozen of them in Louisiana, and that a first flight could take off as early as Monday. A US official explained that the expulsions would transit through Pakistan, as Washington has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban and therefore cannot organize direct flights to Afghanistan.

A part of Trump’s migration policy

These referrals are part of the president’s broader migration strategy, which he presents as essential to strengthening internal security. Human rights defenders, however, denounce this policy, considering that it violates fundamental rights and freedom of expression and weakens minority communities.

The Department of Homeland Security declined to confirm details of upcoming operations, citing the need to preserve their operational security. Shawn VanDiver, for his part, called on Congress to pass a law granting Afghans residing in the United States temporary protected status, which would protect eligible people from deportation.