Judge Valerie Caproni Blocks Removal Flights for 80 Afghan Detainees Held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Judge Valerie Caproni temporarily blocked planned removals of detained Afghans from the United States to Afghanistan or Pakistan. The New York order was issued November 3, 2026.

Background: United States Plans to Deport Detained Afghans to Pakistan

It expires November 7, 2026. The temporary restriction covers detained Afghans facing removal to either destination, not only people who contacted advocates.

The case involves planned removal flights, but the court order and the government’s statement about flights are distinct. The order directs officials to honor the government’s representation to the court.

The court order pauses removals, not just a flight schedule

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told the court it had no planned or confirmed chartered or commercial flights for deporting Afghan nationals to Afghanistan or Pakistan through the end of the week. Christopher George, the agency’s deputy assistant director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, made that representation.

The judge’s order temporarily blocks removals to those countries. The government’s statement addressed flights. It did not, by itself, establish that the court had ended the removal effort permanently.

The order has a firm expiration date. It does not resolve what will happen to affected detainees after that date.

More than 80 detainees contacted advocates after ICE notices

Advocates and attorneys said more than 80 detained Afghans contacted them after receiving ICE notices warning they could be removed through Pakistan. That figure counts people who reached out, not everyone covered by the court order.

The reported number was not broken down by detention location. It does not establish that all those who contacted advocates were held in Louisiana.

Human Rights First and AfghanEvac said most of the detainees had fled persecution and lacked legal representation. Those identified among the people contacting advocates included women, a police officer, members of religious minorities, and people with relatives who served in the U.S. military.

The groups’ account does not specify what individual legal or other help followed each contact. A contact with an advocate does not establish that the detainee obtained a lawyer.

Court filings pointed to a Louisiana-to-Pakistan route

A filing in a Virginia court described one Afghan immigrant scheduled for a charter flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, to Pakistan, “with further transport onward to Afghanistan.” Human Rights First also said it had confirmed a Louisiana-to-Pakistan flight scheduled for November 3.

Those accounts described a planned route. The later statement to the court said no chartered or commercial flights were planned or confirmed through the end of the week. They are not the same claim.

Detainees had been moved to Louisiana from immigration facilities elsewhere in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security declined to discuss prospective removal operations, citing operational security and personnel safety.

Human Rights First policy director Savitri Arvey said people returned to Afghanistan “face grave, systematic dangers,” including arbitrary detention, executions, public flogging and retaliatory violence. Afghanistan’s foreign ministry also voiced concern about reported transfers through Pakistan. Zia Ahmad Takal, its deputy spokesman, said the ministry “expresses its serious concern” about the reports.

Lawmakers and advocates warned of danger if removals resume

A letter led by California Rep. Scott Peters and signed by 65 other members of the House and Senate went to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on November 2, 2026. The lawmakers warned that sending vulnerable people could expose them to “persecution, torture, or even death.”

Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, welcomed the pause while cautioning that it did not settle the issue.

“Today is a good day. But I want to be honest with you, this is a reprieve, not a resolution. We haven't stopped this fight forever. This is just a pause.”

People facing removal can consult an immigration attorney about their individual circumstances or contact AfghanEvac and Human Rights First. The court’s order expires November 7, 2026.