This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/16/trump-administration-deports-five-migrants-to-eswatini-in-southern-africa

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
US sends migrants to Eswatini after ban lifted on third-country deportations US deports migrants to Eswatini, African country with troubling human rights record
(about 7 hours later)
Announcement that people from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen were deported comes after eight others were sent to South Sudan this monthAnnouncement that people from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen were deported comes after eight others were sent to South Sudan this month
A flight carrying immigrants deported from the US has landed in Eswatini, the homeland security department announced, in a move that follows the supreme court lifting limits on deporting migrants to third countries. The US has flown five immigrants from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba to the small, African country of Eswatini – an absolute monarchy with a troubling human rights record.
In a post online, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin named five deportees from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen and said they were convicted of crimes ranging from child rape to murder. The move signals that the US is again ramping up so-called “third country” deportations after the US supreme court cleared the practice last month.
“A safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed. This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,” McLaughlin said late on Tuesday. The US Department of Homeland Security announced the deportation on social media on Tuesday.
In late June, the US supreme court cleared the way for president Donald Trump’s administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own without offering them a chance to show the harms they could face. The decision handed the government a win in its aggressive pursuit of mass deportations. “A safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed,” Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokeswoman, wrote. “This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back.” She said each of the men had been convicted of serious crimes.
On 4 July, the US completed deportation of eight other migrants to conflict-plagued South Sudan. The men had been put on a flight in May bound for South Sudan, which was diverted to a base in Djibouti, where they had been held in a converted shipping container. In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Eswatini confirmed that the men were being held in correctional facilities.
Tom Homan, the US border tsar, said last week he did not know what happened to the eight men deported to South Sudan, saying: “If we removed somebody to Sudan, they could stay there a week and leave, I don’t know.” Eswatini, the only absolute monarchy in Africa, also confirmed that it had accepted the US deportees following “months of robust high-level engagements” with the US. The scope of Eswatini’s commitment to accept deportees was not immediately clear, though the Trump administration has been seeking to make deals with countries across the globe to accept immigrants that the US cannot easily deport to their home countries.
Earlier this month, a top Trump administration official said in a memo that immigration officials may deport migrants to countries other than their home nations with as little as six hours’ notice. Though other administrations have conducted third-country removals, the Trump administration’s practice of sending immigrants to countries facing political and human rights crises have raised international alarm and condemnation.
US immigration and customs enforcement (Ice) will generally wait at least 24 hours to deport someone after informing them of their removal to a so-called “third country,” according to a memo dated 9 July from the agency’s acting director, Todd Lyons. The state department’s most recent human rights report on Eswatini, which has been ruled since 1986 by King Mswati III, points to “credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government”. There were credible reports that some political prisoners were tortured in detention, according to the state department. Prison conditions overall varied, though facilities were plagued with overcrowding, disrepair, poor nutrition and ventilation and unchecked prisoner-on-prisoner violence.
Ice could remove them, however, to a so-called “third country” with as little as six hours’ notice “in exigent circumstances,” the memo said, as long as the person was provided the chance to speak with an attorney. It is unclear how long the US deportees will remain in Eswatini. The acting government spokesperson, Thabile Mdluli, said that the men “will be repatriated to their respective countries” but will remain imprisoned in the mean time. Mdluli indicated Eswatini would work with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) “to facilitate the transit of the inmates to their countries of origin”.
The memo stated that migrants could be sent to nations that have pledged not to persecute or torture them “without the need for further procedures.” The new Ice policy suggested the Trump administration could move quickly to send migrants to countries around the world. The flight carrying deportees to Eswatini comes just days the US completed deportation of eight other immigrants to South Sudan – a country beset with political instability and a hunger crisis. Prior to landing in South Sudan, the deportees were diverted to a US military based base in Djibouti, where they had been held in a converted shipping container for weeks. More than 200 Venezuelan men that the Trump administration deported to El Salvador – most of whom had no criminal histories in the US – also remain incarcerated in the country’s notorious mega-prison, Cecot, where detainees have reported facing torture.
In late June, the US supreme court cleared the way for the administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own without offering them a chance to show the harms they could face. The decision handed the government a win in its aggressive pursuit of mass deportations.
Sign up to First ThingSign up to First Thing
Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersOur US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters
after newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion
Human rights advocates have raised due process and other concerns over Trump’s immigration policies that his administration has cast as measures aimed at improving domestic security. Earlier this month, a top Trump administration official said in a memo that immigration officials may deport migrants to countries other than their home nations with as little as six hours’ notice.
Eswatini, the last absolute monarchy in Africa, has been led by King Mswati III since 1986. The 57-year-old ruler has been criticised for his lavish lifestyle and has faced accusations of human rights violations. US immigration and customs enforcement (Ice) will generally wait at least 24 hours to deport someone after informing them of their removal to a so-called “third country”, according to a memo dated 9 July from the agency’s acting director, Todd Lyons.
His country, formerly known as Swaziland, is landlocked by neighbours South Africa and Mozambique. Ice could remove them, however, to a so-called “third country” with as little as six hours’ notice “in exigent circumstances”, the memo said, as long as the person was provided the chance to speak with an attorney.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report The memo stated that migrants could be sent to nations that have pledged not to persecute or torture them “without the need for further procedures”. The new Ice policy suggested the Trump administration could move quickly to send migrants to countries around the world.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed reporting