US deported more than 100 migrants to African countries in 10 days, documents show

Federal documents obtained by US media show that President Donald Trump's administration deported more than 100 migrants to eight African countries on three separate US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flights over a 10-day period. Those removed included nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Iran, Nepal, Turkey and Venezuela, none of whom held citizenship in the destination countries. The deportees were sent to Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Liberia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. The disclosures come as the US administration has expanded its third-country deportation agreements, with more than 30 countries worldwide reported to have accepted individuals removed from the United States. Among the partners identified in the documents are the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, countries associated by international observers with armed conflict, political instability and human rights abuses. Some African countries are said to accept only migrants deported from elsewhere in Africa, while Eswatini, the Central African Republic and Liberia have also received people originating from Latin America, Europe and Asia. According to the documents, some deportees sent to Eswatini and South Sudan had been convicted of violent crimes in the United States, while many others faced only illegal entry or overstay charges.