Deportation - The Times Of Central Asia

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Migrant Workers Deportation Uzbek citizens

Uzbek Citizens Deported from U.S. to Return Home

Uzbekistan has contacted Latin American governments and U.S. authorities regarding the deportation of its citizens from the United States, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahror Burhonov announced. According to Burhonov, Uzbek citizens deported from the U.S. typically return home on flights along the New York-Tashkent route. The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Washington and the Consulate General in New York have been coordinating with U.S. law enforcement agencies to facilitate a safe return. As part of ongoing cooperation, the U.S. government notifies Uzbekistan of each deportation case. "We are monitoring reports about the possible deportation of Uzbek citizens to other countries. Our diplomatic missions have formally requested information from the U.S. regarding such cases. Additionally, we have established contacts with Latin American countries through diplomatic channels," Burhonov stated. Previously, The Times of Central Asia reported that a group of 200 migrants from Central Asia and India would be deported to Costa Rica as part of U.S. immigration enforcement efforts. A separate U.S. Air Force flight carrying deportees from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam recently landed in Panama. Two more flights are expected, bringing the total number of deportees to 360.

Migrants Deportation U.S. Trump

U.S.-Funded Plane Carrying Some Central Asian Migrants Lands in Costa Rica

A total of 135 migrants, including people from Central Asia, have arrived in Costa Rica on a flight from the United States, where the Trump administration has promised mass deportations and has enlisted several Latin American countries as transit points for migrants being transferred to their countries of origin. None of the migrants on the passenger plane that arrived at the international airport near the capital of San José on Thursday have been flagged by the United States as a security threat, said Omer Badilla, Costa Rica’s deputy interior minister. Costa Rica is conducting its own checks, he said. “They’re families, they’re people who don’t have any record” of criminal or allegedly criminal conduct, Badilla told local media. About half of the group are children. Costa Rica has said the migrants will be held at a temporary facility in the south of the country for up to several weeks prior to their transfer to their countries of origin. The government originally said it was expecting to receive 200 migrants on Thursday’s flight. The operation is being supervised by the International Organization for Migration, a Geneva-based United Nations agency that will take care of the migrants while they are in transit, according to the Costa Rican government. Human rights groups have expressed concern that deported migrants could face persecution in some cases if returned by force to their countries.

Panama Migrants Deportation DHS The U.S. Government Uzbeks Illegal Immigration

U.S. Deports 119 Migrants, Including Uzbeks, to Panama Under Agreement

The United States has deported 119 migrants of various nationalities to Panama as part of a bilateral agreement, Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino announced on Thursday. According to Reuters, a U.S. Air Force flight carrying deportees from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam arrived in Panama on Wednesday. Two additional flights are expected soon, bringing the total number of deported individuals to 360. The migrants will stay at a shelter near the Darién jungle, a critical migration route between Central and South America, before being sent to their home countries. “Through a cooperation program with the U.S. government, a flight arrived yesterday with 119 people of various nationalities,” President Mulino said. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not commented on the deportations. Earlier this month, after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Mulino reaffirmed that Panama’s sovereignty over the Panama Canal is non-negotiable. However, he also indicated that Panama could deport more migrants as part of ongoing cooperation with the U.S. During the same meeting, Panama’s security officials discussed the possibility of expanding an existing July 2024 agreement, which currently allows the U.S. to deport Venezuelan, Colombian, and Ecuadorian migrants through a Panamanian airstrip at U.S. expense. Panama’s Deputy Minister for Security, Luis Icaza, reported that the number of migrants crossing the Darién jungle dropped by 90% in January compared to the same period last year. The U.S. deportation policy could be part of a broader strategy to speed up removals of migrants whose home countries are reluctant to accept them. In January, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his hardline stance on illegal immigration while stating that he has no objections to legal immigration. He also defended his plan to end birthright citizenship as part of his broader immigration policy.

Migrants Deportation U.S. Trump

Kyrgyzstan Cautions Citizens as Trump Targets Chicago in Migrant Crackdown

Kyrgyzstan opened a consulate in Chicago in 2022 because of the growing Kyrgyz population there. A Kyrgyz community center operates in a Chicago suburb. Kyrgyz cuisine can be sampled in the so-called “Windy City” as well. Now the city is a focal point of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans for the mass deportation of migrants that he says are in the country without permission, and Kyrgyzstan is warning its citizens to follow U.S. immigration law and always carry relevant documents with them. Some people in immigrant communities in Chicago had been uneasy in the last week, expecting federal raids and arrests after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said on Sunday that operations were conducted in the city “to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities.” Deportations of Central Asians increased in the last year of former President Joe Biden’s term. It is unclear to what extent Trump’s deportation plan, one of his key election campaign pledges, will affect people from Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries who are in the United States. Many of the people likely to be affected on Trump’s watch are from larger immigrant communities, including those with roots in Latin America. But in an uncertain, fast-moving environment, Kyrgyzstan is warning its nationals not to take any chances. “Due to recent changes in the United States' immigration policy, the country's official authorities are taking measures to stop illegal immigration at the border and identify individuals residing in the country without legal grounds,” the Kyrgyz embassy in Washington said Monday on social media. Kyrgyzstan advised its citizens “currently in the United States or planning to travel there to strictly adhere to the new provisions of immigration laws and to carry all necessary documents confirming their legal status at all times,” according to the statement. It was accompanied by an image of a loudspeaker blaring the words: “Important message!” Chicago officials had promised to protect migrants under a “sanctuary city” policy in which they don’t cooperate with federal deportation efforts, placing the metropolis in the crosshairs of Trump’s plan. Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States, with a population of nearly three million. A 2023 commentary in the Chicago Council on Global Affairs quotes Nurdin Mamatzhan, president of the Kyrgyz Community Center, as saying there are more than 10,000 people from Kyrgyzstan in the Midwestern city. The number is several times higher, according to another estimate. --- The Kyrgyz government provided contact details for questions about staying in the United States: Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in the United States and Canada 2360 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington D.C. 20008 Email: kgconsulate.washington@mfa.gov.kg Phone: +1 202 256 2924, +1 202 449 9823, +1 202 449 9822 Consulate General of the Kyrgyz Republic in Chicago 100 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1610, Chicago, IL 60602 Email: kgconsulate.chicago@mfa.gov.kg Phone: +1 312 929 3442, +1 312 994 2416

Wagner Group Deportation Security Border Migrants USA

Russian or Kazakh? Questions, Security Concerns About Man Detained at U.S. Border

A man who said he is a citizen of Kazakhstan pleaded guilty this week to illegally entering the United States at the southern border with Mexico. But U.S. prosecutors said he was also carrying a Russian passport and that he admitted to being a member of the Wagner Group, a Russia-backed mercenary organization that is a target of U.S. sanctions, according to a media report in Texas. A criminal complaint filed on Jan. 5 against the man, Timur Praliev, says U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered him on the previous day. “When questioned as to his citizenship, defendant stated that he was a citizen and national of Kazakhstan, who had entered the United States illegally on January 4, 2025 by crossing the Rio Grande River near Roma, Texas,” read the complaint, which was filed in federal court in McAllen, Texas. However, the ValleyCentral.com news site, which covers the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, reported that Praliev was carrying both Russian and Kazakh passports, a total of about $7,000 in U.S. dollars and Mexican pesos and also had a drone in his backpack. The news site attributed information about Praliev to Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda McColgan. The federal prosecutor requested that Praliev be sentenced to 15 days in prison because of concern about his association with Wagner, which has fought in Western-backed Ukraine and also projected Russian power in Syria and several African countries, with sometimes brutal methods. On Jan. 7, Praliev pleaded guilty to illegal entry into the United States and U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker sentenced him to time served, meaning that he had completed his prison sentence while waiting in detention for the hearing. Dave Hendricks, the journalist who reported on the case for ValleyCentral.com, said on X that “he'll almost certainly remain in federal custody until he's deported.”

Education incident Court Cases India student Crime Deportation

Indian Students Involved in New Year’s Eve Brawl Deported from Kazakhstan

Six Indian students have been deported from Kazakhstan following their involvement in a mass brawl in Almaty on New Year’s Eve. The students, enrolled at a university in Almaty, were the only individuals implicated in the altercation, with no Kazakh citizens involved. "This was an internal conflict among the students," Kazakhstan’s Minister of Science and Higher Education, Sayasat Nurbek commented. "The Almaty Police Department is conducting an investigation. We have discussed the matter with the Indian Embassy and reached a joint decision to deport the students." The altercation occurred at a café on Kok-Tobe, a popular mountain destination in Almaty. What began as a quarrel between the students escalated into a violent mass brawl, with video footage showing participants wielding chairs, tables, and batons. The footage quickly circulated online, drawing public attention to the incident. According to the Almaty Police Department, all individuals involved in the fight were identified and taken to the Medeusky District Police Department for questioning.