In brief
Human Rights Watch has warned that the United States is unlawfully deporting migrants to third‑party African countries, where many are at risk of persecution and torture. Since the 2025 election, more than 500 people have been transferred to nations such as Eswatini, Ghana, and South Sudan, with reports of arbitrary detention, abuse, and lack of basic care during flights and upon arrival. The policy violates the principle of non‑refoulement, and it exploits migrants to deter future asylum seekers. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security insists the moves keep dangerous individuals off American streets, but critics say the policy merely shifts suffering elsewhere. Indigenous communities and human rights advocates argue that this reflects a broader pattern of treating people as expendable resources rather than respecting their dignity and right to safety.
The Hidden Cost of Enforced Migration
Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the US is unlawfully sending migrants to African countries where they have no choice but to return, exposing them to violence and persecution. The report cites more than 500 deportations since Trump’s 2025 presidential campaign, targeting third‑party states such as Eswatini, Ghana and South Sudan.
According to DHS, these “third country removals” are a public safety tool that removes “dangerous criminal illegal aliens” from U.S. streets. HRW, however, argues that the policy simply shifts the burden of uncontrolled migration to other nations.
Deportees have reported arbitrary detention and “abusive treatment” on flights, including 18‑hour chains and lack of essential medication, food and water. Some were expelled to their home countries—where they face unlawful persecution—or to states that criminalise same‑sex relations, putting LGBT travellers at extreme risk.
Eswatini claimed it had “welcomed 32 deportees,” while Ghana and South Sudan faced allegations of ill‑treatment. In Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Ghana, migrants were sent to their native lands in violation of the principle of non‑refoulement, which protects people from being returned to countries where they could face torture.
HRW quotes an unnamed U.S. official who told a Senate hearing that the administration’s aim was to “threaten people that they will be dropped in the middle of nowhere,” a warning that “the point is to scare people.”
Interim U.S. programme director Michael Garcia Bochenek says the policy “is designed to cause human suffering as a means to deter migration.” The U.S. Court’s “opaque deals” and the lack of oversight raise serious concerns about compliance with international human rights law.
No African country has publicly commented on the HRW findings. Meanwhile, indigenous communities in both the Americas and Africa are calling for a re‑evaluation of global migration practices that ignore the cultural, environmental and spiritual ties to land that should guide humane protection policies.
