Judge temporarily halts deportation of Afghan refugee in El Paso

Automatically translated from Spanish. Read the original in Spanish

A New Mexico federal judge issued an order this Monday to temporarily halt the deportation of an Afghan citizen who was being held at Camp East Montana. This judicial decision came at a critical moment, just as it has been reported that President Donald Trump’s administration is finalizing preparations to expel Afghan citizens detained on U.S. soil to their home country, using Pakistan as a stopover this week.

The detainee is Sardar Akbari, a 31-year-old man facing a removal order to Afghanistan. Before being transferred to El Paso on October 27, Akbari spent nearly two years at the Torrance County Detention Facility, located in Estancia, New Mexico, southeast of Albuquerque. According to court documents filed, said transfer was carried out with the goal of preparing for the execution of his final removal order.

Human rights organizations have warned that these government actions place the lives of the affected Afghans in direct danger. Many of them fled their country after collaborating with U.S. military forces and various aid organizations during the war, fearing reprisals from the Taliban, the group that has ruled Afghanistan since 2021.

Sardar Akbari decided to leave his country after suffering a brutal beating by members of the Taliban, who were looking for his wife due to her prior service in the Afghan army. According to records from the New Mexico district court, the militant group was specifically targeting the woman for her military history.

During his journey to the United States, Akbari reported being a victim of assaults and robberies in both Peru and Mexico. Finally, on December 28, 2024, he managed to cross into South Texas, where he surrendered to Border Patrol agents and was placed under federal immigration custody. The following day, U.S. authorities issued a determination of inadmissibility, keeping him since then under the detention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

Akbari’s wife and child also managed to flee Afghanistan, although court records do not provide additional details about their current location. In March, an immigration judge ordered Akbari’s expulsion to Afghanistan, a decision that became final in the month of April.

Following intense legal activity developed over the last week, the Chief District Judge for New Mexico, Kenneth J. Gonzales, ruled this Monday to suspend the removal order for a period of 14 days. The judge conditioned this pause on being guaranteed that there are adequate safeguards in place to prevent any risk of suicide by the detainee.

The ACLU of New Mexico noted in a statement that Judge Gonzales’ ruling responds to the acute mental health crisis Akbari suffered upon learning of the government’s intention to deport him to Pakistan. Additionally, the court ordered the federal government to have the detainee transferred back to the District of New Mexico.

Rebecca Sheff, senior attorney for the ACLU of New Mexico, described the government’s actions as cruel, callous, and reckless, especially considering that these are people who risked their lives to support U.S. war efforts. For his part, Shaw Drake, co-counsel for Akbari’s defense and an assistant professor of law at the University of New Mexico School of Law, maintained that this case exposes the deficiencies of the immigration system.

Drake emphasized that if ICE has the capacity to deport vulnerable immigrants to a third country without prior notice or an opportunity to claim fear, the fundamental guarantees of due process are nullified. To date, the government has not provided clear information to Akbari or his attorneys on whether the deportation flight would depart from El Paso.

Historically, Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss was a nerve center for deployment during the war in Afghanistan and served as a temporary refuge for thousands of Afghan evacuees following the U.S. withdrawal. U.S. officials confirmed the existence of deportation plans in sealed court documents obtained by the Associated Press, indicating that operations could begin from Louisiana.

The plan to send Afghans to Pakistan was initially reported by Bloomberg last week, while the New York Times reported that, after arriving on Pakistani territory, the immigrants would be transferred to Afghanistan. The organization Human Rights First, citing an October 26 report, indicated that among those affected could be Afghan allies and their families who worked alongside U.S. forces during the 20-year war.

The Department of Homeland Security, when consulted by El Paso Matters, limited itself to stating via email that they do not confirm removal operations for security and operational reasons, without responding to the concerns raised by human rights advocates. Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in January 2025, the administration has suspended refugee programs and visa access pathways for Afghans, which, according to activists, facilitates deportations to third countries in Africa or Pakistan.

If carried out, these flights would represent the first mass deportation of Afghans directly into the hands of the Taliban. This fundamentalist group took full control of Afghanistan in 2021, following the withdrawal of the United States and its NATO allies at the conclusion of a 20-year war.

Democratic Congresswoman for El Paso, Veronica Escobar, condemned the measure in a statement, calling it a level of incomprehensible cruelty. Escobar stated that the Trump administration’s lack of appreciation for the sacrifice of Afghan allies will haunt the nation for generations, lamenting the devastating consequences for innocent people.

On October 23, Akbari filed a federal petition for habeas corpus arguing that his detention exceeded the six-month period established by the Supreme Court in the 2001 Zadvydas case, which dictates that immigration detention cannot be indefinite for people who cannot be deported. Although Judge Gonzales ordered the government to respond and restricted Akbari’s transfer out of New Mexico, ICE moved him to Camp East Montana on October 27 without notifying his defense.

On October 28, Judge Gonzales denied an emergency motion to block the deportation, arguing a lack of jurisdiction over the final removal order. However, after the presentation of new evidence, including a statement from an ICE official confirming Pakistan as the final destination, the attorneys renewed their legal efforts.

The defense has also expressed fear that Akbari could be sent to a third country in Africa, where he would face similar dangers. Human Rights First has documented that those who return to Afghanistan face severe systemic risks, including executions, arbitrary detentions, and retaliatory violence.

The organization also reported that the Trump administration could be preparing flights to force the return of Iranian citizens to Iran, which would mark the fourth operation of this type since 2025 and the first since the start of the conflict in February. Uzra Zeya, president and CEO of Human Rights First, criticized the government for carrying out removals to active war zones and severe security crises, placing individuals at extreme risk by establishing agreements with countries like Kuwait, Qatar, and Pakistan.

This case, which involves a man who has spent 298 days in custody, remains a focal point regarding how current immigration policies are applied. Uncertainty persists while the courts evaluate the necessary safeguards to prevent people in vulnerable situations from being sent to environments where their lives are in imminent danger.