Second group of Iranian deportees from US en route home
Iran on Sunday confirmed that 55 Iranian nationals have been deported from the United States, marking the second group repatriated in recent months under US immigration crackdown.
The director of Iran’s Interests Section in Washington, Abolfazl Mehrabadi, said that around 50 Iranians left the US on Saturday. He told IRNA that the Iranians, who were held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Arizona, had departed for Tehran through Mesa Airport.
Mehrabadi said they were flown to Kuwait to be repatriated home.
American and Iranian officials announced in September that about 400 Iranians were expected to be returning from the US. The first flight, carrying 120 people, arrived in Qatar in late September before they were transferred to a Tehran-bound flight.
A report published on Monday by Mizan news agency, quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry official Mojtaba Shasti Karimi acknowledging the deportation of 55 Iranians.
“These individuals announced their willingness for return following continuation of anti-immigration and discriminative policy against foreign nationals particularly Iranians by the United States,” Karimi reportedly said.
According to Karimi, the individuals had in recent months completed “legal and administrative procedures” through Iran’s Interests Section in Washington DC.
Based on the US claims, “the Iranians were repatriated because of legal reasons and breach of immigration regulations,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump came into office promising the largest mass deportation in US history, targeting more than 10 million unauthorized migrants living in the United States.