THE US deported dozens of people to the Central African Republic on Saturday.

Those deported included an Afghan whose brothers collaborated with the US military, his lawyer and an advocacy group said.

The Afghan man, who is in his early twenties, was granted protection against deportation to Afghanistan by a US judge due to fears of persecution by the Taliban, his lawyer Alma David said.

His family in Afghanistan had received threats from the Taliban because of the work performed by the brothers in support of the US military, according to court documents.

One of the Afghan man’s brothers lives in the US and served in the Afghan National Army, which collaborated with the US military before the Taliban seized power in 2021, Ms David said.

Another one of his brothers, a pilot trained by the US, was killed by the Taliban, she added.

Saturday’s deportation flight included 12 Afghans and eight Iranians, as well as several people from Nepal and Nicaragua, said Savi Arvey, director of policy, refugee and immigrant rights at Human Rights First.

Under a series of often secret agreements, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to two dozen countries that aren’t their own as it pushes ahead with its immigration crackdown, advocates say.