Newly Released Emails Show a Quiet Channel Between ICE and Iran Shaped Deportation Flights

Hundreds of emails obtained by the National Iranian American Council and reported by the Associated Press show US immigration officials coordinating with Iranian government representatives to deport more than 100 Iranians on three flights between September 2025 and January 2026. The emails indicate Iranian officials had influence over which Iranians were sent back, with ICE apparently accommodating last-minute changes to deportation manifests — one ICE official wrote, “Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases,” and another noted that “Iran has requested that I amend the previous manifest and expedite the removal process.” The coordination continued through the 12-day US-Israel-Iran conflict in June 2025, when a former acting ICE director called the repatriations a “priority.”