Iran's Police Chief: Illegal Immigrants Must Return to Their Home Countries by Year-End

The Chief of Police of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that "illegal" migrants must leave Iran by the end of the year and return to their home countries. Ahmadreza Radan, in an interview with reporters on Wednesday, August 8, said, "The policies and programs are based on the return of all illegal immigrants." He further stated that "illegal immigrants cannot go on the Arbaeen pilgrimage," adding that they will be "arrested and transferred to camps if they move towards the borders." In recent months, there have been numerous reports of the detention and expulsion of foreign nationals from Iran in domestic media, and although these reports do not specify the nationality of these individuals, a summary of other reports indicates that most of these individuals are Afghan citizens. Kabri Gholami, an Afghan student residing in Iran, was rescued from border rejection with the efforts of women's rights activists. The Iranian Ministry of Interior announced in a statement in April that "Afghan migrants must return to their homeland and rebuild Afghanistan." The ministry also stated that "there is no possibility of accepting Afghans in the country, and it is necessary to organize those Afghans who are permitted to stay temporarily in the country." The head of the Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs Department of the Tehran Governorate recently told the media that "the status of illegal migrants has been clarified, and if they enter the country illegally, the Islamic Republic government has not provided any welfare services for this group, and they must leave the country." Meanwhile, local Afghan officials reported that in the year 1402, "more than 20,000 Afghan children" were expelled from Iran. Mohammad Haroon Wahidi, the head of migrant affairs in Nimroz province, told Tolo News on April 23 that "approximately 30 to 40 unaccompanied children are returned from Iran to Nimroz daily." Majid Mirahmadi, the Deputy for Security and Military Affairs of the Ministry of Interior of Ibrahim Raisi's government, announced in Bahman 1401 based on census data that the number of illegal immigrants in Iran is "2 million and 300 thousand people." However, Mr. Mirahmadi simultaneously stated that these illegal immigrants "have referred to the relevant offices and registered, and their information is being completed." Regarding the situation of Afghan migrants in Iran, Zahra Azizi, an Afghan journalist residing in Tehran, told Radio Azadi (the Afghan section of Radio Free Europe) that migrants are currently "even when they go to bakeries, they are not given bread; even some of their census papers have been torn by the police, and hospitals charge Afghan migrants two to three times more because they do not have insurance." Afghanistan has witnessed waves of migration of its citizens to other countries, including its neighboring countries Iran and Pakistan, for several decades since the onset of civil war in the country, but these migrants, especially in Iran, face numerous restrictions regarding residence, education, and employment.