US Plans to Deport Iranian Nationals to Central African Republic

—The Trump administration is arranging deportation flights to send Iranian nationals — including women who fled Iran seeking safety — to the Central African Republic, a country with no prior ties to Iran and one of the world's most unstable. The deportations would occur despite some individuals having no prior connection to the CAR and lacking any legal process there. Iranian women who escaped the Islamic Republic face the prospect of being sent to a violent, impoverished nation rather than returned home or given asylum. Critics, including immigration lawyers and human rights groups, condemned the move as legally dubious and potentially life-threatening. The administration has not explained the legal basis for choosing the CAR as a deportation destination.