Rights groups urge Poland to halt support for US deportation flights to Ukraine
By Alexander Chituc
May 13 (Reuters) - Amnesty International and Human Rights First on Wednesday urged Poland to stop cooperating with U.S. deportation flights transferring Ukrainian nationals via its territory, saying the practice may breach international law.
In a joint statement, the groups said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had carried out at least two such operations via Poland in November 2025 and March 2026, deporting more than 50 people to Ukraine.
"Forcibly transferring Ukrainians into an active war zone, where missiles strike nationwide, shocks the conscience and violates international law,” said Uzra Zeya, CEO and president of Human Rights First.
“Poland, which has offered generous safe haven to so many Ukrainian refugees, should refuse to facilitate the Trump administration’s forced transfers that send Ukrainians back to life-threatening circumstances,” she added.
The groups said they had written to Polish authorities on April 17 raising concerns about the flights, which they said departed from Phoenix, Arizona to Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland, but had received no response and decided to publish the letter.
"Poland has no agreement or arrangement with the United States regarding deportations. This is an internal matter between two countries — Ukraine and the United States," Polish Interior Ministry Spokesperson Karolina Galecka told Reuters.
Poland was only a transit point, the country was not directly involved and its Border Guard only carrying out clearance procedures, she added.
"Perhaps a Ukrainian citizen who is to be deported from the United States to Ukraine has no right to enter Poland. And here, a simple check is being carried out within the framework of statutory authority," Galecka said.
Bartosz Gorski, vice president of Rzeszow-Jasionka airport, declined to comment on the deportation flights and did not answer questions on the Polish government’s involvement.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
FLIGHT ALSO LOGGED IN APRIL
Since taking office last year, U.S. President Donald Trump has expanded an immigration crackdown led by ICE, increasing detentions and deportations.
Rights groups say the policy violates due process and free speech, while the administration says it is aimed at curbing illegal immigration and improving security.
A further flight carrying Ukrainians landed at Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport on April 30, although the number of passengers was unknown, the statement from Amnesty and Human Rights First added.
The groups said conditions in Ukraine were not safe for returns, adding that under international law Poland must not send people to places where their lives or freedom could be at risk.
"Polish authorities must investigate these incidents, establish the whereabouts of those affected and ensure they are protected from refoulement, treated with dignity, and provided with an effective remedy,” said Anna Błaszczak-Banasiak, director of Amnesty International Poland.
(Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington DC, Barbara Erling Warsaw and Layli Faroudi in Paris, Editing by Amina Ismail and Kate Mayberry)
