African Nation to Send Back Migrants to Native Countries After Controversial Deportations by Trump Admin

The African state of Eswatini announced on Wednesday that it will repatriate five migrants deported there by the United States, a day after American officials said their home countries had refused to accept them.

The migrants—citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos—had served prison sentences in the U.S. for serious crimes, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described the five men as "individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back."

Eswatini government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said in a statement that the government, together with the U.S. and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), would "facilitate the transit of these inmates to their countries of origin." However, the IOM said it was not involved in the deportation and had not been asked to assist, as The New York TImes points out. Mdluli's comments were also shared through the government's official X account:

The original move had drawn criticism from political opposition in Eswatini. Mphandlana Shongwe of the People's United Democratic Movement told Africa News that he condemned "the bringing of hardcore convicts to our country to mix with our young convicts who still have a chance to be rehabilitated." Prince Bailey of the Swaziland United Democratic Front said the deportations made Eswatini look like "a dumping site."

Lioness Sibande, secretary general of the Swaziland Peoples Liberation Movement, also condemned the transfer, calling it part of a broader pattern of Western exploitation. "The West is always disrespecting us as Africans and thinking we are their dumpsite," she said.

The Trump administration has pursued third-country deportations as part of its broader immigration enforcement efforts, including recent removals to South Sudan, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama.

Attorney Matt Adams, who represents migrants sent to South Sudan, told The New York Times:

"This is another clear example of how the United States is flagrantly violating the law restricting it from deporting people to countries where they will likely be persecuted or tortured."