Judge Orders ICE to Stand By Official's Statement That No Afghan Deportation Flights to Pakistan Are Planned This Week

A federal judge in Manhattan has entered a temporary restraining order that requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to abide by an agency official's statement that no flights are planned to deport Afghan nationals to Afghanistan or Pakistan, after a New York legal aid group sued to stop removals it said could begin as early as Nov. 3.

U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni issued the three-page order at 1:33 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, following a conference with both sides. The order says the government consented to it. It expires Saturday, Nov. 7, at 11:59 p.m. unless the court extends or dissolves it, and the government must respond to the group's motion by 9 a.m. Thursday.

The Digital Free Press read the order, the complaint and the sworn declaration filed with the emergency motion.

What the Afghan Removal Order Requires

According to the order, a government lawyer told the court he had spoken with Christopher George, ICE's deputy assistant director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, and that George said ICE had "no planned or confirmed chartered or commercial flights for the purposes of deporting Afghan nationals present in the United States to Afghanistan or to Pakistan, at least through the end of this week."

The order says George also represented that ICE arranges charter flights and commercial airline removals "weeks in advance." Based on those statements, Caproni wrote, the government "has effectively represented that no Afghanistan nationals will be deported from the United States to Afghanistan or Pakistan this week."

The order directs the defendants and those acting with them to "comply with and adhere to" George's representations for as long as the order is in effect. It also requires the U.S. attorney's office to give a copy to George, to a State Department representative and to any other Homeland Security official it judges should be notified. The judge found that no security bond is required.

What Project Rousseau Alleges

The plaintiff, Project Rousseau Inc., is a nonprofit that its complaint says was founded in 2011 and has provided pro bono immigration representation since 2022. It filed suit on Nov. 2 against acting ICE Director David J. Venturella, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Todd Blanche, identified in the complaint as attorney general, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The complaint alleges, "upon information and belief," that some of the group's Afghan clients will be removed to Pakistan, that Pakistan will take custody of them, and that Pakistan "is meant to then execute removal of the Clients from Pakistan to Afghanistan by bus." It describes the plan as a third-country removal and says there is "no public record" that Pakistan has given the United States diplomatic assurances about the clients' treatment.

The group raises a due process claim under the Accardi doctrine, which holds agencies to their own rules, and a claim under the Administrative Procedure Act. Its emergency motion asked the court to bar the clients' removal to Pakistan or Afghanistan while the case proceeds, and the complaint asks the court to declare that removing them without proof of diplomatic assurances from Pakistan, and an assessment of their credibility, would violate due process.

In a declaration, supervising attorney Andrew Heinrich said the group learned through advisories in a pending habeas case and communications from ICE that affected Afghan nationals, including its clients, were scheduled for removal "as early as November 3, 2026." He said the group's clients have not received notice that they would be removed to Pakistan.

What Comes Next

The government's written response is due Thursday morning, two days before the restraining order is set to lapse. The order does not decide the merits of the group's claims or address whether the planned removals may go forward after it expires.

Sources: Order (Temporary Restraining Order), Project Rousseau, Inc. v. Venturella, No. 1:26-cv-09602 (S.D.N.Y.), Nov. 3, 2026; Emergency Complaint for Injunctive Relief, filed Nov. 2, 2026; Declaration of Andrew Heinrich in support of Emergency Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, filed Nov. 2, 2026; court docket via CourtListener.