US deportations to African countries unlawful and exploit suffering, rights group says

More than 500 migrants have been expelled from the US to African countries, HRW says, citing US data. The US has been sending migrants who cannot be deported to their home nations to other countries instead Campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the deportation of migrants from the US to third-party African countries is against the law and exploits suffering to deter migration. "Many, if not most" of the deportees have no practical option but to return to their home countries regardless of the harm they face there, HRW says in a report. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, more than 500 people have been sent to African countries where they are not citizens, the group says, citing US data.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said "third country removals are an essential public safety tool that remove the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens from our streets". Tackling immigration was one of Trump's key pledges during the 2024 election. Eswatini, which welcomed 32 deportees from the US, says three people – from Yemen, Belize and Laos – "voluntarily departed" to their home countries recently. According to HRW, some of the countries accepting the deportees have "arbitrarily detained" or sent them to their home countries, where they face "the risk of persecution or torture". The