Eswatini says it received more ‘third country’ deportees as part of deal with Trump administration
Key Takeaways
- Eswatini says it accepted four additional deportees from the United States who are not Eswatini nationals, bringing the reported total to 19.
- The latest group reportedly included two people from Somalia, one from Sudan and one from Tanzania; an advocacy group’s flight tracker showed a plane departing Phoenix and landing in Eswatini.
- The U.S. reportedly paid Eswatini $5.1m under a broader set of “third country” deportation arrangements; a Senate inquiry alleges the U.S. sent more than $32m to five governments for such deals.
- Some deportees have remained in custody in Eswatini despite completing criminal sentences in the U.S., and legal challenges are ongoing.
- Under U.S. law (INA §241), DHS can remove a person to a country willing to accept them, even if it is not their country of nationality; DHS did not comment.
Eswatini confirms arrival, flight details and nationalities
Eswatini’s government announced it has received four more “third country” deportees from the United States, stating the group included two from Somalia, one from Sudan and one from Tanzania. In total, Eswatini says it has now accepted 19 people deported by the U.S. who are not citizens of Eswatini. It has been reported that a flight-tracking tool run by Human Rights First, an advocacy group, showed a charter departing Phoenix, Arizona, and arriving in Eswatini late Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), did not immediately comment.
How the deals work—and the legal basis
These removals flow from bilateral “third country” arrangements in which nations are paid to accept non-citizens deported by the U.S. Eswatini says it received $5.1m under its deal. Separately, a recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democratic staff investigation alleged the administration paid more than $32m to five governments to take deportees, criticizing some partners as having records of corruption and human rights abuses. Legally, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows DHS to remove someone not only to their country of nationality but to another country that agrees to accept them (8 U.S.C. §1231(b)(2)). These arrangements are distinct from “safe third country” or “asylum cooperative” transfers, because they involve people with final removal orders rather than asylum seekers awaiting adjudication.
Human impact and ongoing challenges
For people caught in these transfers, the consequences can be severe: it has been reported that some deportees sent to Eswatini in 2025 remained in prison there despite finishing criminal sentences served in the U.S. Three men sent last July have brought a complaint before the African Union’s human rights body, while Eswatini’s high court recently dismissed a separate local challenge; an appeal is pending. A lawyer has said one Cambodian man is set to be repatriated to his home country, after another man was previously returned to Jamaica. For families and attorneys managing removal cases now, the takeaway is clear: if a removal order becomes final and the home country resists or is delayed in receiving the person, DHS may seek acceptance from a third country—potentially leading to prolonged detention abroad and complex, multi-jurisdictional legal battles to secure release or onward travel.
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