'Unforgivable betrayal': Trump administration condemned over reported Afghan deportation plans

US president Donald Trump’s administration has been slammed online, following a report from The New York Times, citing US officials, which says the Republican’s government has detained Afghan immigrants in Louisiana and “relatives of those who helped the US military”, with a view to deport them to Afghanistan.

The NYT’s report, published on Friday, cites three US officials and says of the “dozens” of people detained, some of them “could face discrimination or persecution under the Taliban”, including one gay man.

Homosexuality is illegal in Afghanistan, and punishable by death.

One official said more than 150 Afghan immigrants are expected to be deported, in a move which would see them sent to Pakistan, which would then send them to Afghanistan.

The newspaper added that the first deportation flight is expected to leave on Monday (November 2).

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the NYT in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “does not comment on prospective removal operations, including flight schedules, passenger manifests, destinations, or individual case details”.

The news has since been condemned as an “unforgivable betrayal” by social media users:

Allison Spencer, an illustrator, wrote: “We have a loved one scheduled to be on this flight. He will be killed if he’s returned to the Taliban. He supported the US mission in Afghanistan. He has broken no laws. He came here legally. Seeking asylum should not be a death sentence”:

New Yorker writer Susan Glasser commented: “What a betrayal. The US is not good to its word”:

Former Marine fighter pilot and Democratic candidate Amy McGrath branded it “absolutely shameful”:

Writer Charlotte Clymer said it was “hard to see how we’ll ever be trusted again to do it right by our allies when this is the way we treat them”:

“Monstrous,” said Rick Wilson of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project:

Activist and author Amy Siskind said it was “unforgivable”:

And New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member on the foreign relations committee, said: “It is reprehensible that the Trump Administration plans to deport hundreds of Afghans, including women, children and those who supported U.S. forces, to Pakistan - who then risk being sent back into the hands of the Taliban. Congress must stand against this”:

indy100 has approached the White House for comment.

Why not read…?

• Trump admission ridiculed as he brings up ‘dumb’ spelling again
• ‘Amazing closing argument’: Trump’s remarks on daycare resurface

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.