Two migrants deported from the United States have arrived in Eswatini, local authorities confirmed. The arrival occurred under a bilateral agreement that has faced significant criticism from human rights organizations.
The individuals, identified as Latin American nationals, were described as “third-party nationals” in a government statement released late Thursday. Authorities noted their arrival followed consultations and formal agreements between Washington and Eswatini.
This pair represents the fifth batch of deportees transferred from the U.S. to the landlocked African kingdom since the initial group arrived in July 2025.
Several earlier deportees have already been repatriated. A Jamaican national was sent back to his home country in September, and a Cambodian man was released in March for repatriation after being held for five months in a maximum-security facility.
Through a series of often-secret agreements, the Trump administration has deported thousands of individuals to more than two dozen nations that are not their own, according to immigration advocates, as part of its stringent immigration enforcement efforts.
Legal experts argue that this practice serves as a loophole to indirectly return asylum seekers to the very countries they fled.
Approximately eleven of these agreements involve African nations, including Rwanda, Ghana, Cameroon, Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and the Central African Republic.
The administration’s selection of African nations to host deported individuals and receive financial compensation is also facing scrutiny. Many of these countries, including Eswatini, South Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea, are known for repressive governance and poor human rights records.
Eswatini’s King Mswati III has long faced accusations of violently suppressing pro-democracy movements.
Liberia has emerged as a central focus of the expanding third-country deportation plan after agreeing to accept up to 1,200 migrants—one of the largest quotas to date—and receiving its first group earlier this month.
In July of this year, the Jamaican government reported that two of its three citizens deported to the small kingdom had formally declined offers of repatriation to the Caribbean nation.
The Eswatini government has declined to identify the two most recent deportees, disclose their nationalities, or specify how long they will remain in the country.
Pro-democracy and civil rights organizations have actively opposed Eswatini’s secret agreement to accept U.S. third-country deportees, engaging in cross-border protests, lawsuits, and widespread public opposition.
