U.S. deported dozens to African nations, lawyers say

The United States deported dozens of individuals to four African countries over Thursday and Friday as part of President Donald Trump's "third-country" deportation system, lawyers told AFP. The deportations targeted Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and the Central African Republic.

A significant aspect of these deportations is that nearly all the individuals sent to these nations are not originally from them. Immigration lawyers and a flight monitor specializing in deportations highlighted this practice, which is part of a broader U.S. immigration crackdown. Critics contend that this policy utilizes "legal loopholes" to expel people when direct return to their home countries is legally barred.

Around ten individuals were deported to Equatorial Guinea on Thursday, according to immigration lawyers Alma David and Meredyth Yoon. On Friday, a flight from the U.S. landed in Sierra Leone, where approximately ten more individuals disembarked. This same flight was scheduled to continue to Ghana and then to the Central African Republic. These four nations have previously received deportees from the U.S.

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Practically all deportees are originally from countries different from those to which they are being sent.

Concerns have been raised about the conditions faced by deportees in these third countries. Some individuals have been stranded in hotels for months in Equatorial Guinea, while others were left without documents at the border in Togo by Ghana last year. The flights, tracked by ICE Flight Monitor, made refueling stops in Senegal, which has become a key transit point for U.S. deportation flights across Africa.

Lawyers noted the opacity surrounding these deportations, with uncertainty about the final destinations for some individuals. Trump has asserted that while direct return to home countries may be prohibited, sending individuals to third countries is permissible. AFP investigations have revealed that the U.S. has offered substantial financial incentives and threatened visa restrictions to persuade African nations to accept these deportees.

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Trump has argued that, while he cannot return these people to their countries of origin, he is not prohibited from sending them to third countries.