03/16/2026
"Human Rights Watch has viewed the written agreement between the United States and Eswatini, under which the US will provide $5.1 million to “build [Eswatini’s] border and migration management capacity” and Eswatini will accept up to 160 deportees from the US.
"So far, Eswatini has received at least five people from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen and is reportedly holding them in the Matsapha Correctional Complex under harsh conditions. An Eswatini official told Human Rights Watch that the country is preparing to receive another 150 people. Lawyers and civil society groups have challenged the legality of detaining these people."
"Human Rights Watch has viewed the written agreement between the United States and Eswatini, under which the US will provide $5.1 million to “build [Eswatini’s] border and migration management capacity” and Eswatini will accept up to 160 deportees from the US. So far, Eswatini has received at least five people from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen and is reportedly holding them in the Matsapha Correctional Complex under harsh conditions.
"An Eswatini official told Human Rights Watch that the country is preparing to receive another 150 people. Lawyers and civil society groups have challenged the legality of detaining these people."
"South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation confirmed on September 4 that it was holding seven foreign nationals deported from the United States in July, while an eighth person, a South Sudanese national, was released to his family. A government spokesperson said that their status is still under consideration. On September 6, the authorities formally announced the repatriation of one Mexican national to Mexico but did not clarify where the remaining six men are being held and under what conditions, nor did it explain the legal basis for holding them."
"The South Sudanese authorities’ statements underscore the lack of transparency and due process protections surrounding these transfers, Human Rights Watch said."
"In Uganda, the Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed in a statement that a temporary bilateral cooperation agreement has been reached with the United States. Under its terms, Uganda will receive third-country deportees from the United States, but “individual[s] with criminal records and unaccompanied minors will not be accepted” and preference will be given to individuals of African origin."
"Ghanaian president John Mahama confirmed that his government has agreed to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the United States. This agreement is limited to West African nationals. So far, five citizens of Nigeria and The Gambia have been expelled to Ghana under the agreement."
"Prior to their expulsion, US immigration judges had granted all of them fear-based immigration relief, either withholding their removal under the US Immigration and Naturality Act or deferring their removal under the Convention against Torture."
The United States’ recent expulsions of third-country nationals to Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan have exposed several hundred people to a risk of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and refoulement.
