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Trump administration held talks with Iran on deporting Iranians during war, records show

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets, mostly left-leaning (60%).

5 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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Court documents unsealed Thursday show the Trump administration held secret talks with Iran about deporting Iranians during the war. As recently as mid-October the government said it planned to deport Iranians through an unnamed third country, though it was unclear when. An ICE official testified in October that federal officials had been in communication with Iran since February about travel documents and removal options. Judge Ana Reyes ordered five days’ written notice before any removal and warned of contempt proceedings if removals went ahead without notice to her court. The Justice Department has argued that the notice requirement works as an injunction.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Court documents unsealed Thursday show the Trump administration held talks with Iran about deporting Iranians during the war.

    Reported byFar Left2Left1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story, The Boston Globe
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    PBS NewsHour
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times

  2. As recently as mid-October the government said it had plans to deport Iranians through an unnamed third country, though it was unclear when.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    PBS NewsHour

  3. An ICE official said in October testimony that federal officials had been in communication with Iran since February.

    One outletThe Epoch Times· Far Right

  4. Judge Ana Reyes warned she would start contempt proceedings if deportations went ahead without notice to her court, and ordered five days’ written notice before any removal.

    Reported byFar Left2Left1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story, The Boston Globe
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    PBS NewsHour

  5. In a Wednesday filing, the Justice Department argued that the threat of sanctions effectively turned the notice requirement into an injunction.

    One outletRaw Story· Far Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that unsealed court documents show the Trump administration held talks with Iran about deporting Iranians during the war. The left stresses the judge’s contempt warning and Trump’s own words about Iran, while the right stresses the war context and calls in Congress for the administration to reconsider.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Raw Story, a Far Left outlet, leads with the judge rebuking the Justice Department and a contempt threat, while the Guardian and Boston Globe carry the AP wording about secret talks.

    Judge Loaded verb“hammers”The verb “hammers” adds force to a judge’s court order in the outlet’s own voice, where a plainer verb would describe the same ruling.More neutral: criticizesDisagree with this highlight? Trump DOJ with the president's own words as contempt charge Sensational language“looms”“Looms” suggests a contempt charge is imminent, while the judge had only warned that contempt proceedings could follow.More neutral: may face contempt proceedingsDisagree with this highlight?
    Raw StoryFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The center’s only coverage is a single AP report carried by PBS NewsHour, with a plain headline that states the talks and attributes them to court documents.

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The Epoch Times states the talks plainly in its own headline, adds the US–Iran war context, and its description highlights calls in Congress for the administration to reconsider.

    Trump Administration Talked With Iran About Deporting Iranians During US–Iran War
    The Epoch TimesFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left2

    hammerslooms

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    hammersMore neutral: criticizes

    The verb “hammers” adds force to a judge’s court order in the outlet’s own voice, where a plainer verb would describe the same ruling.

    Judge hammers Trump DOJ with the president's own words as contempt charge looms

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    loomsMore neutral: may face contempt proceedings

    “Looms” suggests a contempt charge is imminent, while the judge had only warned that contempt proceedings could follow.

    Judge hammers Trump DOJ with the president's own words as contempt charge looms

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

  • the judge’s contempt warning
  • Trump’s own words about Iran
  • secret talks with Iran
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • Raw StoryFar Left

    Judge Loaded verb“hammers”The verb “hammers” adds force to a judge’s court order in the outlet’s own voice, where a plainer verb would describe the same ruling.More neutral: criticizesDisagree with this highlight? Trump DOJ with the president's own words as contempt charge Sensational language“looms”“Looms” suggests a contempt charge is imminent, while the judge had only warned that contempt proceedings could follow.More neutral: may face contempt proceedingsDisagree with this highlight?

    A federal judge warned the Trump administration she would start contempt proceedings if it deported Iranian detainees without first notifying her court, according to court records unsealed Thursday that reveal secret U.S. …

    Read at Raw Story (opens in a new tab)
  • The GuardianLeftAssociated Press report

    Trump administration holds secret talks to deport Iranians even as war presses on, court documents show

    The development emerges from a lawsuit alleging violations of national immigration regulations The Trump administration held secret talks with Iran on deporting Iranians even as the war there dragged on, court documents obtained by the Associated Press show. …

    Read at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)
  • The Boston GlobeFar LeftAssociated Press report

    Trump administration held talks with Iran on deporting Iranians during the war, court documents show

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Trump’s administration held secret talks with Iran on deporting Iranians even as the war there dragged on, court documents show. …

    Read at The Boston Globe (opens in a new tab)

    Also published by PBS NewsHour. It counts once.

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • talks with Iran during the war
  • court documents as the source
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • ICE official’s October testimony
  • US–Iran war context
  • congressional calls to reconsider deportations
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    The Boston Globe, Nov 5, 12:44 PM EST

  • Center

    1 hr 21 min later

    Its first report, Nov 5, 2:04 PM EST

  • Right

    3 hr 52 min later

    Its first report, Nov 5, 4:36 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Boston GlobeFar LeftNov 5, 12:44 PM EST
  2. PBS NewsHourCenterNov 5, 2:04 PM EST
  3. The GuardianLeftNov 5, 3:43 PM EST
  4. The Epoch TimesFar RightNov 5, 4:36 PM EST
  5. Raw StoryFar LeftNov 5, 5:04 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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