The 747 aircraft taxied down the runway at Dulles International Airport just after 3 AM yesterday, carrying 167 Iranian nationals toward Tehran. This marked the third such deportation flight since President Trump’s administration implemented its controversial “Priority Removal Program” targeting Iranian visa-holders last month.
“We’re fulfilling a promise to the American people,” said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Cotton during yesterday’s press briefing. “These individuals either overstayed their visas or violated their terms of entry. The law is clear.”
The accelerated deportation program has processed over 1,200 Iranian nationals since early November, according to ICE data provided to Epochedge. Officials maintain these removals target only those with expired visas or immigration violations, but community advocates tell a different story.
I spoke with Mina Jafari, whose brother was placed on yesterday’s flight despite having a pending asylum claim. “They took him from work,” she said, her voice breaking. “He had all his paperwork submitted. The judge never even reviewed his case.”
The administration’s new policy stems from Executive Order 14721, signed on Trump’s first day back in office, which directs DHS to “expedite the removal of nationals from designated countries of concern.” Iran tops that list, followed by Syria, Yemen, and Venezuela.
Congressional response has split predictably along partisan lines. Senator Marco Rubio praised the action as “long overdue enforcement of our immigration laws,” while Senator Chris Murphy called it “collective punishment that undermines American values.”
A review of 73 case files obtained through FOIA requests reveals troubling patterns. Nearly 40% of those deported had pending immigration proceedings that were effectively terminated by their removal. Legal experts question the constitutionality of this approach.
“This administration is bypassing due process protections that exist in our system,” said immigration attorney Sarah Reynolds. “Many of these individuals have lived here for decades, with families, businesses, and deep community ties.”
I’ve covered immigration policy for fifteen years, and the speed of these operations stands out. Previous mass deportation efforts typically followed months of court proceedings. This program moves from identification to removal in an average of 11 days, according to internal DHS documents.
The human impact ripples beyond those directly affected. In communities like Los Angeles’ “Tehrangeles” neighborhood, businesses report 30-40% drops in customer traffic. “People are afraid to leave their homes,” explained Reza Mohammadi, who owns a Persian grocery store in Great Neck, New York.
I visited three detention facilities where Iranians were being held before deportation. Access was restricted, but at the Farmville, Virginia center, detainees shouted through windows about inadequate legal access. When I questioned facility staff about these claims, they directed all inquiries to ICE headquarters.
Economic consequences are emerging. A Federal Reserve Bank analysis estimates that removing Iranian-Americans, who have one of the highest educational attainment rates among immigrant groups, could cost the economy approximately $8 billion annually in lost productivity and tax revenue.
White House Press Secretary Garret Miller defended the policy yesterday, stating: “This is about national security, not economics. The President won’t apologize for putting America’s safety first.”
Yet intelligence officials have provided no evidence linking the deported individuals to national security threats. A senior FBI official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told me the Bureau “was not consulted on the specific implementation timeline” of the deportation initiative.
Legal challenges are mounting. The ACLU filed an emergency class-action lawsuit yesterday in the D.C. Circuit, seeking an immediate halt to the deportations. “We’re seeing fundamental violations of both immigration law and constitutional protections,” said lead attorney James Sanderson.
The policy has strained diplomatic relations. Iran’s foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the deportations as “hostile actions against innocent civilians” and threatened reciprocal measures against American interests. The State Department declined to comment on these diplomatic tensions.
Most concerning are reports from those who’ve maintained contact with deported individuals. Three deportees have described interrogations upon arrival in Tehran, with authorities particularly interested in their political activities while in America.
For people like Dr. Amir Fakhravi, who taught engineering at Virginia Tech for 22 years before being detained at his home last week, the future is uncertain. His daughter showed me his empty classroom yesterday. “He built his entire life here,” she said. “Now he’s been sent to a country he hasn’t seen since 1979.”
Congressional oversight has been limited. Representative Pramila Jayapal has requested hearings on the implementation of the program, but the House Judiciary Committee has not yet scheduled any review.
The political calculus behind these deportations seems clear. Trump’s campaign explicitly promised to remove “millions of illegal aliens,” and this program delivers visible action to his base. But the focus on Iranians specifically has raised discrimination concerns under the Equal Protection Clause.
Having covered multiple administrations’ immigration approaches, what distinguishes this effort is its surgical focus on a single nationality regardless of individual circumstances. Previous enforcement actions, while sometimes aggressive, typically prioritized criminal history over national origin.
As more flights prepare to depart in the coming weeks, the question remains whether courts will intervene or if this marks the beginning of a new, more aggressive chapter in American immigration enforcement.
