Early Monday morning, Eswatini’s international airport was the unlikely site of an event that’s become emblematic of a quietly expanding U.S. immigration strategy. Ten migrants, none of them citizens of Eswatini, stepped off a flight originating from Alexandria, Louisiana, with stops in Puerto Rico, Senegal, and Angola. Their arrival marked the second such group sent to the small southern African kingdom by the United States under a controversial third-country deportation agreement—a move that has drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups and ignited legal challenges both in Eswatini and abroad.
According to The Associated Press, these deportees are the latest among more than 40 people sent from the U.S. to African nations since July 2025, as part of an initiative spearheaded by the Trump administration. The program, designed to remove migrants who cannot be sent directly to their countries of origin, involves secretive deals with at least five African countries, including Eswatini, South Sudan, Rwanda, Ghana, and Uganda. The U.S. has agreed to pay Eswatini $5.1 million to accept up to 160 deportees, Human Rights Watch revealed, though the full terms of these agreements remain largely undisclosed.
Eswatini’s government, in a statement released Monday, confirmed the arrival of the ten men, saying, “They have been securely accommodated in one of the country’s correctional facilities and are in good health, undergoing admission processes.” The Correctional Services department added that the individuals would remain in custody until arrangements could be made for their repatriation to their home countries. The department emphasized its commitment to humane treatment: “HMCS remains committed to the humane treatment of all persons in its custody.”
The nationalities of the new arrivals were not disclosed by either government. However, U.S.-based immigration lawyer Tin Thanh Nguyen, who represents several of the deportees, told Reuters and Axios that the group included three men from Vietnam, one from the Philippines, one from Cambodia, and others from Chad and Cuba. Nguyen, who has been tracking the flights with assistance from rights group Human Rights First, also represents two Vietnamese nationals from the latest flight and two others sent to Eswatini in July. He expressed deep frustration at the lack of access to his clients, stating, “I cannot call them. I cannot email them. I cannot communicate through local counsel because the Eswatini government blocks all attorney access.”
For the Trump administration, the rationale is clear and uncompromising. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Axios, “The illegal aliens deported to Eswatini have been convicted of heinous crimes which include murder and rape—they do not belong in the United States.” She added, “The Trump Administration is fulfilling the President’s promise to carry out the largest mass deportation operation of criminal illegal aliens using all the tools at our disposal.”
Yet, the reality on the ground is far more complicated and fraught with legal and ethical questions. Rights advocates have sharply criticized the third-country deportation program, warning that it can leave people stranded in nations where they have no ties, do not speak the language, and may be denied due process. As Al Jazeera reported, activists in Eswatini have launched a legal challenge to the government’s secretive agreement with the U.S., arguing that it is illegal and violates basic human rights.
The first group of five deportees arrived in Eswatini in July 2025. According to AP and Reuters, they included men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, and Yemen. Four of these men—those from Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen—have been held without charge in the country’s maximum-security Matsapha prison for nearly three months. The Jamaican man was repatriated last month, and Eswatini authorities say two others are expected to be sent home soon. Lawyers for the detainees contend that holding the men without charge is unlawful. Civic groups within Eswatini have organized protests and filed a separate court case challenging the detentions, but the proceedings have been repeatedly delayed, with judges failing to appear for scheduled hearings.
Nguyen has been especially vocal about the difficulties in representing his clients. “Even if my clients are successfully repatriated tomorrow, these third-country deportations remain illegal and must be stopped before hundreds more people are unjustly subjected to this system,” he told Axios. The Eswatini government’s refusal to allow a local lawyer to visit the detainees, despite a court ruling granting access, has only intensified concerns. Authorities immediately appealed the decision, blocking any visits and further fueling accusations of secrecy and lack of transparency.
This approach isn’t unique to Eswatini. The U.S. has sent deportees to other African nations under similar arrangements. Six deportees are currently detained in South Sudan at an undisclosed location, while Rwanda has not revealed where it is holding seven deportees. In Ghana, 11 of the 14 individuals sent there are suing the government, alleging they are being held in terrible conditions at a military camp on the outskirts of Accra. These cases, reported by AP, underscore the wider pattern of secrecy and contested legality that has come to define the third-country deportation program.
For Eswatini, a nation of roughly 1.2 million people ruled by King Mswati III, the controversy has shone a spotlight on its political system and human rights record. The king, who has governed by decree since 1986, presides over a country where political parties are effectively banned and pro-democracy movements are tightly restricted. U.S. authorities, when pressed about the treatment of deportees, have referred all questions to Eswatini officials, sidestepping direct accountability for the conditions faced by those sent there.
The Trump administration defends the program as a necessary measure to remove dangerous criminals from American communities, especially when home countries refuse or are unable to accept their nationals. Critics, however, argue that the program’s secretive nature, lack of due process, and the potential for indefinite detention in unfamiliar countries amount to a violation of international human rights standards. The ongoing legal battles in Eswatini and elsewhere suggest this issue is far from settled.
As the latest group of deportees begins their uncertain journey in Eswatini, the debate over the ethics and legality of third-country deportations continues to intensify. With more flights expected and agreements in place with additional countries, the fate of these migrants—and the future of U.S. deportation policy—remains deeply uncertain. For now, the only certainty is that the world is watching, and the questions raised by these flights are not likely to fade away any time soon.
