Khalil, a 24-year-old Afghan man, was deported to the Central African Republic despite having been granted 'withholding of removal' by a U.S. immigration judge in August 2025 due to the threat of Taliban persecution. His attorney, Alma David, said his family in Afghanistan received direct threats from the Taliban because of his brothers' support for U.S. military operations—one brother served in the Afghan National Army, while another, trained as a pilot by the U.S. military, was killed by the Taliban. A retired Marine colonel who supervised his brother said he fears Khalil could be killed if eventually returned to Afghanistan. Khalil crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2024 and was held in ICE custody throughout his time in the U.S., but did not qualify for asylum under a Biden-era policy requiring migrants to seek protection in other countries first. He was among 12 Afghans on a flight to Bangui that also carried eight Iranians and individuals from Nepal and Nicaragua—the second such flight to the Central African Republic since June, when roughly two dozen migrants, including an Iranian woman fearing persecution, were sent there.