Four more African migrants deported from the United States arrived in Eswatini on Thursday, the government said, continuing what authorities described as a series of third-country transfers under U.S. immigration enforcement. The announcement said the latest group included a Tanzanian, a Sudanese and two Somali nationals who are to be repatriated to their respective countries of origin, though the government did not identify them by name or say where they were being held.
The Eswatini government said this was the third batch of deportees that the Trump administration has sent to the southern African kingdom, with the transfers arriving after what the AP said were largely secretive agreements between the United States and at least seven African nations. Other countries cited in the report as having struck third-country deportation deals with the Trump administration included Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan.
In its statement Thursday, Eswatini said another third-country national who had arrived previously had already received travel documents and “will be departing the country shortly.” The government added that discussions with the remaining countries of origin for the other third-country nationals are ongoing.
The AP said Eswatini, which borders South Africa, has faced protests from civic groups over the deportations. The AP noted that the king has full power and has been accused of suppressing pro-democracy movements, while rights groups and others have protested the U.S. approach.
The latest report also placed the transfers in a broader timeline, saying the U.S. has sent at least 19 people in three batches to Eswatini since last July. The report said the United States described the first group of five men sent to Eswatini in July as convicted criminals with deportation orders, and that a Jamaican man from that initial group was repatriated to his home country in September.
After Thursday’s arrivals, Eswatini said it “reiterates its commitment to ensuring that the rights and dignity of the third-country nationals are upheld while they remain in the country.”
The AP further reported that the Trump administration has spent at least $40 million to deport roughly 300 migrants to countries other than their own in Africa, Central America and elsewhere, citing a report compiled by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that was released last month. The AP said the agreements have been the subject of criticism that centers on transparency and rights protections for people moved outside their home countries.