WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has argued that some criminal migrants must be deported to third countries because their own nations won’t take them back. But in several recent cases, that claim hasn’t held up: at least five men, initially slated for deportation to such third nations, were instead sent home within weeks.
As President Donald Trump continues his drive to deport millions of immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status, his administration has pursued removals to countries such as South Sudan and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), both located in sub-Saharan Africa. These include individuals convicted of serious crimes.
Typically, migrants with criminal convictions serve their U.S. sentences before being deported. That appears to have been the case for the eight men sent to South Sudan and the five to Eswatini, though some had completed their sentences years earlier.
In June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the use of third-country deportations by arguing that some individuals were “so uniquely barbaric that their own countries won’t take them back.” But critics questioned whether those countries had even been asked to receive them—and whether such removals were unnecessarily harsh.
In one example, five men facing deportation to Libya in May were later sent to their countries of origin, including Vietnam, Laos, and Mexico, after a U.S. judge blocked the Libya transfers. The deportations had not previously been disclosed. Interviews with two of the men, a family member, and several attorneys confirmed the destinations.
DHS declined to comment on those cases, and Reuters was unable to confirm whether the men’s home countries had initially refused repatriation. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin disputed claims that home countries had been willing to take back their nationals but did not provide further details.
“If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, you could end up in CECOT, Guantanamo Bay, or South Sudan or another third country,” McLaughlin said in a statement, referencing detention centers including one in Florida’s subtropical Everglades.
Deportations Far from Home
DHS has not provided figures for third-country deportations since Trump took office on January 20. However, the agency has deported thousands to Mexico and hundreds to other nations. According to DHS, the eight individuals sent to South Sudan originated from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Vietnam. One man listed as being from South Sudan actually had a deportation order to Sudan, court records show. The five men deported to Eswatini were from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson described the deportees to South Sudan and Eswatini as “the worst of the worst,” noting convictions that included child sexual abuse and murder. “American communities are safer with these heinous illegal criminals gone,” she said in a statement.
Neither the Laos government nor Vietnam’s foreign ministry responded substantively to requests for comment. The government of Mexico also declined to comment.
In a court filing dated May 22, the Trump administration acknowledged that one deportee from Myanmar held valid travel documents for his home country but was still sent to South Sudan. DHS said the man had been convicted of sexually assaulting a victim unable to resist due to mental and physical incapacitation. Eswatini’s government confirmed it was holding the five men sent under its agreement with the U.S. in isolated prison units.
A Legal and Ethical Debate
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to deport migrants to third countries without giving them a chance to argue that such moves could place them in danger. However, a legal challenge is still pending in federal court in Boston and could eventually make its way back to the Supreme Court.
Critics contend the policy is designed to instill fear and push migrants to leave voluntarily rather than risk being sent to a foreign country where they have no ties.
“This is a message that you may end up with a very random outcome that you’re going to like a lot less than if you elect to leave under your own steam,” said Michelle Mittelstadt, communications director at the Migration Policy Institute.
New internal DHS guidance, issued in July, allows deportations to third countries in as little as six hours—even without assurances of safety from the receiving country.
Although the administration has spotlighted the deportations of convicted criminals to African nations, it has also deported asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Russia, and other countries to Panama and Costa Rica. In March, over 200 Venezuelans accused of gang activity were deported to El Salvador and held in CECOT prison without access to legal counsel. They were released only after a prisoner exchange last month.
More than 5,700 non-Mexican migrants have been deported to Mexico under a continuation of a policy first implemented under President Joe Biden, according to Mexican government data.
Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, argued that the deportations of Mexican nationals to South Sudan or threats of deportation to Libya reflect an unwillingness by the Trump administration to explore direct repatriation.
“Mexico historically accepts back its own citizens,” said Realmuto, who is involved in the lawsuit challenging the deportation policy. One of the South Sudan deportees, Mexican national Jesus Munoz Gutierrez, had completed a sentence for second-degree murder and was transferred directly into immigration custody. Court documents show he fatally stabbed a roommate in 2004.
When his deportation was initiated in late May, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government had not been informed. “If he does want to be repatriated, then the United States would have to bring him to Mexico,” she said at the time.
His sister, Guadalupe Gutierrez, said she doesn’t understand why he was sent to South Sudan, where he remains detained. “Mexico never rejected my brother,” she said.
‘Using Us as a Pawn’
Supporters of the administration’s policy argue third-country removals are necessary for public safety when a migrant’s return to their home country isn’t feasible.
“The Trump administration is prioritizing the safety of American communities over the comfort of these deportees,” said Jessica Vaughan, policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies.
The administration has also approached countries like Palau to accept deported migrants.
U.S. law allows deportation to another country only if returning a person to their home nation is “impracticable, inadvisable or impossible.” Officials must first attempt repatriation to the country of origin, followed by any country with which the individual has ties, such as past residency or birthplace.
For one man from Laos who nearly faced deportation to Libya, the policy brought back painful memories. Speaking anonymously from Laos due to safety concerns, he said, “Why is the U.S. using us as a pawn?”
His attorney confirmed the man had served time in prison for a felony, though the specific charge was unclear. He recalled being pressured by U.S. officials to sign a deportation order to Libya. He refused, insisting on being sent to Laos. Officials allegedly told him he would be deported to Libya regardless of his consent.
Now back in Laos, a country he left as a child refugee in the 1980s, he’s trying to rebuild his life. “I’m just taking it day by day,” he said.
