Emails show U.S. immigration officials worked with Iran on deportations

U.S. immigration officials worked with Iran to deport Iranians in late 2025 and early 2026, according to newly released emails. The correspondence reveals a working relationship between the two governments, even as tensions mounted between them. Hundreds of emails exchanged between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, obtained by the National Iranian American Council, detail how the countries cooperated on three separate immigration flights.

Iranian officials exerted influence over the selection of individuals to be deported, with ICE officials reportedly accommodating last-minute changes to deportation lists at the request of Iran's embassy. One ICE official noted adding cases per the Iran Embassy's request, while another mentioned meeting with the "Director at the Iranian Embassy" to make unspecified changes. Emails also show Iranian officials continuing to make requests for additional deportees even on the day a flight departed, though some late requests were denied.

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Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases

This collaboration is a significant departure from the decades-long U.S. policy of welcoming Iranian dissidents and exiles following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The deportations have drawn criticism from human rights activists, particularly given Iran's documented pattern of violent persecution against women, religious minorities, and political dissidents. The coordination of these flights proceeded even as ICE officials internally acknowledged that Iranians were fleeing their country amid a conflict with the U.S. and Israel in June 2025, just months after a ceasefire was agreed upon.

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Iran has requested that I amend the previous manifest and expedite the removal process