Iranian Official Reports Daily Deportation of 3,000 Afghan Migrants

Hossein Sharafati-Rad, Director General of Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs in Iran’s Razavi Khorasan Province, announced that approximately 3,000 Afghan migrants are deported daily through the Dogharoun border after being detained.

Sharafati-Rad noted that the Dogharoon border crossing serves as the primary point of deportation for “undocumented Afghan nationals.”

During a visit on Saturday to a proposed site for a migrant camp in Taybad, Sharafati-Rad highlighted the need for a dedicated camp to manage “undocumented Afghan nationals,” emphasising that national officials must prioritise this initiative.

He explained, “A 20-hectare plot of land has been designated for this camp, and we require support and cooperation from relevant agencies at both national and provincial levels to bring this plan to fruition.”

Discussing the government’s programme to identify and deport undocumented migrants by year-end, Sharafati-Rad clarified that, under the migrant regulation plan, undocumented Afghan nationals detained in 11 provinces will be sent back to Afghanistan via the Dogharoun crossing.

Sharafati-Rad further reported a 40% increase this year in the number of Afghan migrants voluntarily returning from Razavi Khorasan Province compared to last year. He added that, following Tehran, Mashhad hosts the second-largest Afghan migrant population in Razavi Khorasan.

In recent months, the Iranian government has intensified its deportation efforts, further complicating living conditions for Afghan migrants within the country. In certain cities, employing Afghan migrants has been criminalised, and renting homes to them has been prohibited.