Human Rights Watch says US deportations to African third countries violate international law

Mixed · 2Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday 8 October 2026 that the US is violating international law by deporting migrants to African countries that are not their own. 1 2 Mixed · 2HRW said the policy "violates international human rights law and is designed to instrumentalise human suffering as a deterrent to migration". 1 2 Mixed · 2After Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, his administration signed agreements with countries in Africa, Latin America and the Pacific to accept foreigners who cannot legally be returned to their own countries. 1 2

Mixed · 2According to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data cited by HRW, more than 500 people have been deported to African countries other than their own. A September investigation by the Forbidden Stories consortium estimated that about 25,000 people had been deported worldwide under the programme. 1 2 Mixed · 2HRW interviewed 24 people deported from the US to six African countries: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini and South Sudan. Some said they were chained during flights of up to 18 hours and were not told their destination. 1 2 Mixed · 2HRW cited an unnamed US official who told a Senate hearing that with countries like Palau or Eswatini, "the point is to scare people". 1 2

Mixed · 2The group said at least a dozen LGBTQI+ people were sent to African countries that criminalise or repress same-sex relations, and warned that such transfers could breach the principle of non-refoulement. It also said many of the agreements remain secret or only partly disclosed. 1 2 Mixed · 2An AFP investigation earlier in 2026 found Washington had pressed African governments with threats of higher tariffs, visa restrictions and aid cuts. Burundi announced early this month that it would accept US deportees, becoming the 15th African country to do so. 1 2