court document

LOS ANGELES — A U.S. deportation flight of Iranian nationals bound for Iran by way of Pakistan was abruptly canceled Sunday morning, according to an attorney who spoke to some of the detainees scheduled for repatriation.

At least eight Iranians were loaded onto a plane Sunday morning in Mesa, Ariz., for a deportation flight headed to the Caucasus nation of Georgia, then on to Pakistan, according to Ali Rahnama, an attorney with the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund who filed emergency motions on behalf of some of the Iranian detainees. The flight was canceled without explanation, he said.

Court documents unsealed days ago in a civil lawsuit filed by the fund showed the Trump administration as recently as mid-October said it had plans to deport the Iranians to Iran, even as the war there drags on, via an unnamed third country. The lawsuit was filed in July and alleges that the U.S. government illegally shared confidential information with Iranian officials about Iranians seeking asylum in the U.S.

There were three deportation flights to Iran between September 2025 and January 2026, with more than 100 Iranian nationals deported. But the administration’s confirmation of the new plans amid the war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February highlights its resolve in carrying out its hard-line immigration crackdown, which has involved ramping up removals, including to places that critics say could endanger the lives of the returnees.

Homeland Security response

In response to questions Sunday from the Associated Press, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not comment on “prospective removal operations, including flight schedules, passenger manifests, destinations, or individual case details,” nor would the agency confirm future removal operations.

“As promised, the Trump Administration is employing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history,” the statement said.

The administration did not specify in the October court records when the deportations would be carried out. But in the last week, roughly a dozen Iranian nationals in immigration detention said they were notified that they were scheduled for an upcoming deportation flight to Pakistan and then to Iran, according to numerous attorneys who have since confirmed those plans with Homeland Security.

Iranian government contacts reported

According to Rahnama, the eight detainees who boarded the flight on Sunday were visited by a senior official with the Iranian Interests Section — an Iranian representative office in the Pakistani Embassy in Washington that handles consular affairs — and were told that the Iranian government would transport them from Pakistan to Iran.

In the litigation brought by the Iranian immigrant advocacy group, at least a dozen Iranian detainees have said they’ve been contacted by Iranian officials who had knowledge of sensitive information on their asylum claims.

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, a nominee of President Biden, has not ruled on the claims but ordered the U.S. government to give the court 24-hour notice of any finalized plans to deport Iranians to Iran or to any other country, and five days’ written notice before any such deportation is carried out.

In a court filing Sunday, the defense fund laid out what it had learned about plans for a removal flight Sunday and argued that the administration may have violated the judge’s directive to give advance notice of deportation plans.

Later Sunday, the government filed court documents in the case, but they were sealed and inaccessible to the public.

Group says individuals could face persecution

The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund has called for a halt to the removal flights, saying in a news release that they would “reportedly mark the first deportation of Iranians to Iran since the U.S.-Iran war began.”

The group’s executive director, Yasmine Chubin, said in a statement Sunday that it was difficult to comprehend why the U.S. would forcibly deport Iranians, including asylum seekers, to Iran, amid ongoing military hostilities.

The consequences of removal, Chubin said, “could be irreversible and individuals may face persecution, torture, or death.”

At least one person who had been part of the scuttled flight volunteered to go back to Iran after nearly two years of detention, Rahnama said, out of desperation to leave what he described as inhumane imprisonment. It’s not clear how many other of the deportees may have volunteered to leave.

Riddle writes for the Associated Press. AP reporter Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.

Nov. 5, 2026 10 AM PT

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s administration held secret talks with Iran on deporting Iranians even as the war there dragged on, court documents obtained by The Associated Press show.

The court documents unsealed Thursday show the Republican administration as recently as mid-October said it had plans to deport the Iranians through an unnamed third country, although it was unclear when it intended to do so. The judge in the case ordered the government to give the court 24-hour notice of any finalized plans to deport Iranians to Iran or to any other country and five days’ written notice before any such deportation is carried out.

The documents show that the administration maintained contacts with Iranian officials during the war over the removals, specifically for submitting travel documents and figuring out “possible avenues for removal.”

“We are at war with a country where the President of the United States has said, as recently as two or three days ago, if not yesterday, that it is essentially lawless … A country that is an enemy of the United States, according to the current president. A country that, according to our president, murdered tens of thousands of protestors,” Judge Ana Reyes said according to the Oct. 15 transcript.

“And what you’re telling me is that the United States of America is going to send individuals back to that region, facing what you and I and everyone who would ever look at this would know would be, at a minimum, a serious threat of certain death.”

“Yes, your honor,” Justice Department attorney Dimitar Georgiev-Remmel said. “The government is executing lawful orders of removal.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The development emerged from an ongoing lawsuit that alleges the Trump administration’s immigration agencies have been sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government, violating national immigration regulations and endangering countless Iranians, court filings argue.

The new court documents show the coordination continued during the war.

The lawsuit depicts a coordinated campaign between the U.S. and Iranian governments to identify Iranians in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and pressure them to return to Iran — a marked departure from decades of diplomatic hostility between the two governments and an ongoing war. DHS has denied that it is sharing asylum application records with the Iranian government.

Hundreds of emails exchanged between U.S. immigration officials exposed how the two countries worked together to arrange for more than 100 Iranians to be flown back to Iran on three immigration flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026.

Deportations of Iranians back to their home country are historically rare, owing to the lack of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Iran and the possible persecution they could face if they were sent to Iran.

But under the Trump administration, ICE has aggressively pushed to deport people even from countries that have typically been reluctant to take people back or with whom the U.S. has had icy or no diplomatic relations.

Sometimes that has meant sending people back to their home country but it has also meant deporting people to other countries that they have no connection with.

The Trump administration has deported people, including Iranians, to countries other than their own in an attempt to circumvent diplomatic hurdles with governments that won’t take their people back. During Trump’s second term, countries including El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and across Africa have accepted noncitizens from the U.S.

In June, an Iranian woman was among the two dozen migrants the U.S. deported to the Central African Republic.

Activists abroad have expressed concern about deportees returning to Iran, whose theocracy has been cracking down on intellectuals and where the government vociferously cracks down on any dissent.

Kunzelman and Santana write for the Associated Press.

Halle Berry’s efforts against ex-husband Olivier Martinez’s domestic violence restraining order have proved successful, after two weeks of hearings in Los Angeles.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled to dissolve Martinez’s temporary restraining order against the Oscar winner during a closed hearing on Thursday and denied his request for a protective order, according to a minute order reviewed by The Times. Judge Shelley Kaufman granted Martinez’s restraining order earlier this month after he accused the actor of physically abusing their 13-year-old son Maceo. The court document states that Martinez “did not sustain the applicable burden of proof” in favor of his protective order request.

“We are extremely pleased that the Court has dissolved the [temporary restraining order],” Berry attorney Marina Beck said in a statement to The Times. “As we move forward, Halle is determined to continue to focus on the well-being and best interests of her family.”

While the decision might alleviate some legal tension for the film star, the Thursday filing also stated that Berry’s visitation time remains limited to Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and every other weekend Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. When Berry and Martinez (married from 2013 to 2015) settled their divorce in August 2023, they agreed to joint physical and legal custody of their son. Kaufman modified the terms of visitation, barring the child from staying overnight with Berry, when she granted Martinez’s temporary restraining order.

Martinez’s attorney Patrick Baghdaserians told The Times his client was “very happy” with the judge’s order keeping Berry’s limited visitation. Thursday’s decision was “really focused on the best interests of the minor child,” he said.

According to the filing, Kaufman decided “all other orders regarding custody and visitation remain in full force and effect including holidays and vacation.” Previous legal custody orders will also remain in full force and effect, Kaufman said.

Berry and her son must attend 12 sessions of “safe haven joint therapy” in six months after a therapist has been appointed, the order said. A hearing to appoint that therapist is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Thursday’s judgment came down weeks after Martinez raised scathing abuse allegations in a request for a domestic violence restraining order against Berry filed Oct. 1. Martinez’s request centered on an alleged Sept. 26 incident involving Berry and their son. Martinez alleged the actor “physically abused our son, Maceo, by jumping on him, putting her hands around his neck, and choking him,” according to court documents. His filing also included a declaration of Berry’s alleged history of abuse, and screenshots of his text conversation with Berry following the alleged September incident in which she appears to have written, “I feel terrible about what happened last night.”

Berry’s legal team downplayed Martinez’s restraining order and allegations, telling The Times in a statement, “to say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement.”

Her attorney added: “In a way, today’s filing is not entirely unexpected from an individual with a well-documented history of erratic, possessive and violent behavior. Fortunately, Halle is used to this kind of outrageous conduct from Mr. Martinez and, while she is deeply saddened, she will not allow it to deter her from fighting for Maceo’s best interests and providing him with the love and support he needs.”

In his request, Martinez also asked a judge to bar Berry from contacting and coming within 300 feet of him and their son. Additionally, Martinez requested that the judge order Berry to refrain from drinking during her agreed-upon parenting time with their son and that she undergo sobriety testing “before, during and after visitation” at intervals the court deems fit. He requested that the judge order Berry to pay legal fees, grant him sole legal and physical custody of the 13-year-old boy and do away entirely with Berry’s visitation time.

After the restraining order, several of Berry’s loved ones voiced their support for the actor. Nahla Aubry, the 18-year-old daughter Berry has kept largely out of the public eye, was among them. Aubry spoke out against her former stepfather Martinez and said of Berry, “I have never witnessed her act violently toward anyone.” She also pointed to a 2012 brawl between her father, Gabriel Aubry, and Martinez.

Berry’s fiancé, Van Hunt, and her attorneys also filed declarations vouching for the “Monster’s Ball” actor. Hunt accompanied Berry during the past weeks’ hearing. Berry and Martinez’s son also testified on the restraining order, despite Berry’s objections.

Times editorial library director Cary Schneider contributed to this report.