U.S. Deportation Flights to Nepal Halt During Middle East War; 5 Nepalis Deported in July
The ICE removal flight carrying deported individuals from the U.S. seen in the sky over Kathmandu. Photo by Dipendra Dhungana.
NEW YORK — The number of Nepali nationals deported from the United States fell sharply in July, with only five people returned to Nepal — the lowest monthly total this year — according to Nepal’s Department of Immigration.
Four men and one woman were deported in July. The department said the United States has not deported anyone to Nepal on a charter flight since the first week of April, when the last such flight arrived in Kathmandu. The pause has occurred during the war in the Middle East, although it remains unclear whether the conflict is responsible for the suspension.
The department noted that it has not confirmed whether the Middle East conflict directly caused the decline in deportations. Nine Nepali nationals were deported in June.
While deportation numbers have temporarily declined, immigration experts say the risk of removal remains significant.
The second Trump administration, which began Jan. 20, 2025, has adopted stricter immigration enforcement policies. Federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have prioritized the deportation of individuals with final removal orders, visa overstays, and denied asylum claims.
Large numbers of Nepalis were deported on charter flights during the early months of 2026. In January alone, 101 Nepalis were deported, including 80 people — 79 men and one woman — who arrived in Kathmandu on a single charter flight. The trend continued in February, when 95 Nepalis were deported via charter flight, followed by 43 deportations in March.
In early April, U.S. authorities returned 45 Nepalis to Kathmandu on a single charter flight, creating widespread fear within the Nepali community. The pattern shifted in May, when no charter flights were used and 15 people were returned on regular commercial flights.
According to official data, most recently deported Nepalis were from the western districts of Dang, Rukum, Salyan, and Banke. Many initially entered the United States without valid visas.
The number of deportations rose sharply in late 2025 after Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nepal ended. Eighty Nepalis were deported in November 2025, and 98 were deported in December. On a single day in December, the United States deported 75 Nepalis — 69 men and six women.
Department of Immigration data show that deportations fluctuated substantially throughout 2025. The monthly totals were six in January, 18 in February, 32 in March, 26 in April, 58 in May, 42 in June, 17 in July, 16 in August, 53 in September, and 38 in October.
Courts Issued 1,162 Removal Orders in 18 Months
Data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), compiled by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), show that U.S. immigration courts issued removal orders against 1,162 Nepali nationals from January 2025 through June 2026.
That total represents 25% of all removal orders issued against Nepalis over the past 28 years.
Combined, the first Trump administration and the current administration have generated 2,006 removal orders involving Nepali nationals. That accounts for 43.24% of the 4,639 removal orders recorded since 1998.
During fiscal year 2025 and the first nine months of fiscal year 2026, removal orders were the most common outcome in cases involving Nepali nationals, surpassing grants of legal protection and case dismissals.
In fiscal year 2025, immigration courts completed 1,837 cases involving Nepali nationals. Judges issued removal orders in 569 cases and granted legal protection in 378 cases (20.58% of all completed cases). Courts dismissed 249 cases, while 223 cases were recorded as having no Notice to Appear (NTA) filed.
Other outcomes included 185 cases in which credible fear was not established, 94 cases in which credible fear was established, 87 cases in which voluntary departure was granted, and 23 cases closed through other means. Smaller categories included 13 other credible-fear decisions, 11 other withholding-only decisions, two cases involving prosecutorial discretion, two other asylum-only decisions, and one withholding-only denial.
Removal orders constituted the largest category of outcomes in fiscal year 2025, followed by legal protection and case dismissals. The protection rate represented slightly more than one-fifth of all outcomes (20.58%) and 39.92% of decisions issued directly on the merits.
During the first nine months of fiscal year 2026, immigration courts completed 941 cases involving Nepali nationals. Judges issued 634 removal orders, dismissed 88 cases, granted voluntary departure in 73 cases, and granted legal protection in only 72 cases (7.65% of all completed cases).
Other outcomes included 30 cases in which credible fear was not established, 29 cases without an NTA filed, six cases closed through other means, five cases in which credible fear was established, three other credible-fear decisions, and one asylum-only case in which protection was denied.
The fiscal year 2026 data indicate that the rate of removal orders has increased sharply compared with 2025. Removal orders represent a clear majority of completed cases, while the share of individuals granted legal protection declined to 7.65% of overall cases and 10.20% of decisions made directly on the merits.
Sharp Increase in Removal Orders
TRAC data based on EOIR records show a steep increase in removal orders issued against Nepali nationals during fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
From January 2025 through June 2026, immigration judges issued 1,162 removal orders against Nepalis, accounting for more than one-quarter of the total recorded over 28 years. This figure is significantly higher than totals recorded during the Biden administration and Trump’s first term.
In 2025 alone, judges issued 783 removal orders against Nepali nationals. The monthly total rose from 26 in January to a peak of 112 in October. During the first six months of 2026, immigration judges issued another 379 removal orders, maintaining a monthly average of about 63.
By comparison, during the Biden administration (January 2021 through December 2024), judges issued 644 removal orders involving Nepali nationals. During Trump’s first term (January 2017 through December 2020), judges issued 864 such orders.
The 783 removal orders issued in 2025 alone exceeded the total issued across the entire four-year Biden administration.
Legal Protection Declines
Over the long term, the number of Nepali nationals granted legal protection has fluctuated significantly and has declined sharply in recent years.
Immigration courts granted legal protection in a record 720 cases involving Nepalis in 2023. The annual total declined to 607 in 2024, 378 in 2025, and only 72 during the first six months of 2026.
While removal orders surged in 2025 and 2026, grants of legal protection fell substantially below 2023 levels.
Historically, legal-protection grants numbered 14 in 1998, 35 in 2001, 41 in 2002, 65 in 2003, 103 in 2004, and 96 in 2005. The figure rose to 180 in 2006 and 189 in 2009, before climbing to 251 in 2010, 343 in 2011, 436 in 2012, and 445 in 2013.
The annual total remained near 300 through the mid-2010s before peaking in 2023.
Removal-order totals have also expanded when viewed by fiscal year. Courts issued 569 removal orders in fiscal year 2025 and 634 in fiscal year 2026 — both well above previous peaks of 349 in fiscal year 2019, 237 in 2011, 218 in 2018, and 204 in 2023.
Removal orders involving Nepali nationals were comparatively low in the late 1990s and early 2000s: 28 in 1998, 42 in 1999, 50 in 2000, 31 in 2001, 34 in 2002, 49 in 2003, and 66 in 2004. The figure then rose to 94 in 2005, 95 in 2006, 88 in 2007, and 100 in 2008.
During the 2010s, removal orders grew to 122 in 2009, 129 in 2010, 237 in 2011, 180 in 2012, 183 in 2013, 187 in 2014, 127 in 2015, 107 in 2016, 139 in 2017, 218 in 2018, and 349 in 2019.
The total fell to 170 in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and dropped to 48 in 2021 before climbing to 163 in 2022, 204 in 2023, and 196 in 2024. It then surged in 2025 and 2026.
The 783 removal orders issued in 2025 were more than four times the 2024 total and more than double the combined totals of 2021 and 2022.
ICE Arrested 388 Nepalis in 13 Months
During the Trump administration’s first 13 months, ICE arrested 388 Nepali nationals in the United States, including 124 individuals who either faced criminal charges or had prior criminal convictions, according to ICE data compiled and processed by the Deportation Data Project.
From February 2025 through February 2026, only 31.9% of Nepalis arrested by ICE had pending criminal charges or prior convictions. The remaining 264 people were accused solely of immigration enforcement violations.
Internal ICE records indicate that of the 124 individuals with criminal records or pending charges, 53 had prior convictions and 71 faced pending charges.
While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated that roughly 70% of individuals arrested nationwide by ICE have pending criminal charges or prior convictions, data involving Nepali nationals present a markedly different pattern: fewer than one in three Nepalis arrested by ICE had a recorded criminal conviction or pending criminal case at the time of arrest.
Monthly arrests of Nepali nationals fluctuated but never reached the 70% criminal threshold cited by DHS. In 2025, ICE arrested 29 Nepalis in February, 15 in March, five in April, 27 in May, 39 in June, 27 in July, 35 in August, 35 in September, 38 in October, 48 in November, and 42 in December.
ICE arrested 29 Nepalis in January 2026 and 19 in February 2026.
Men made up the vast majority of those arrested: 370 men, 17 women, and one person listed as “unknown.” Of the 388 Nepalis arrested, 174 had final removal orders, 195 did not yet have final orders, and the legal status of 19 was unspecified.
ICE has deported 156 of these 388 individuals to Nepal. They are among nearly 800 Nepalis deported from the United States since January 2025.
A separate nationwide TRAC study found that as of July 11, 2026, 46,436 of the 65,765 immigrants held in ICE detention nationwide (70.65%) had no criminal convictions. Among those with convictions, many involved minor infractions, such as traffic violations.
Of all individuals in ICE custody, 58,231 (89%) were arrested directly by ICE, while 7,534 (11%) were apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Additional reporting from New York.