In brief
The latest deportation flight from the US arrived in Eswatini, carrying migrants primarily from Southeast Asia. Migrants have faced severe human rights implications, including detainment without charges, with lawyers raising concerns about their treatment. Eswatini has ongoing arrangements with the US to accept more deportees, further drawing criticism from human rights advocates regarding due process and conditions of detention.
MANZINI, Eswatini (AP) — A plane carrying a group of Southeast Asian migrants deported from the United States landed in the African nation of Eswatini early Monday, a lawyer for two of the deportees reported. This marks the latest deportation flight to Africa, part of secretive agreements with several nations under the Trump administration’s third-country deportation program.
Eswatini is already housing foreign deportees, including men from Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen in a high-security prison, where they face accusations of being detained without charges and denied legal counsel for nearly three months.
Lawyers assert that these individuals are innocent, despite U.S. authorities labeling them convicted criminals,” said Tin Thanh Nguyen, a U.S.-based lawyer representing two migrants aboard the recent flight.
The deportation journey involved stops in Puerto Rico, Senegal, and Angola before reaching Eswatini. The U.S. has made agreements to deport up to 160 individuals to Eswatini, with reports suggesting $5.1 million in funding to assist the nation's accommodation of these deportees.
The government of Eswatini confirmed receiving additional deportees and has not detailed when they will arrive, although advocacy groups criticize the U.S. program for practices that infringe upon human rights and due process.
The escalation of these flights and the associated conditions raise serious concerns, with ongoing lawsuits by some deportees in Ghana accusing authorities of inhumane treatment in their detention facilities.