U.S. inadvertently transferred Southeast Asian migrants to an African nation.
In an unprecedented move, the United States Department of Homeland Security has deported five individuals to the small African nation of Eswatini, despite having no prior ties between the deportees and the country. The individuals, citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos, were convicted of serious offenses including child rape, murder, robbery, weapons possession, and drug offenses.
The deportation of these individuals is part of the Trump administration's expansion of the "third-country deportation" program, which allows the U.S. to deport convicted criminals to countries where they have no ties when their home nations refuse to accept them. The program is a continuation of President Trump's deportation policy, now enabled by a Supreme Court ruling, and seeks third countries to take deportees when their home countries decline.
Eswatini, an absolute monarchy with about 1.2 million people, accepted these deportees despite no prior ties between the deportees and the country. The U.S. government has been seeking deals with African nations like Eswatini and South Sudan to accept such third-country deportees as part of its broader mass deportation agenda.
The overcrowding and complaints about detention conditions are issues arising from the U.S.'s tightened immigration policies. The increased number of arrests has resulted in cases of migrant deportation violating standard procedures, with the deportation of the five accused individuals to Eswatini being a notable example.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Trisha McLaflin, described the deportees as "uniquely barbaric" and said their home countries refused to take them back due to the severity of their crimes. However, the International Organization for Migration is working with the U.S. and Eswatini governments to facilitate the transit of the deportees to their countries of origin.
This controversial move has sparked debate and concern, with government representative Tabile Mdluli making a statement about the matter on social media. The deportation of minors is also a significant part of the mass deportations in the U.S., with over 8,000 children expelled by the U.S. in April 2025 alone, as reported by The Independent.
The situation raises questions about the ethical and legal implications of such deportations, particularly when they involve individuals accused of violent crimes and are forcibly sent to a country with no connection to them. The U.S. government has not yet commented on the specifics of the case, but the debate is likely to continue as the issue gains international attention.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's controversial decision to deport five convicted individuals to Eswatini, a country with no prior ties to them, is a part of the broader mass deportation agenda that includes third-country deportations. This policy-and-legislation move, which falls under President Trump's stricter immigration policies, is causing debates in politics and general news, especially concerning the ethical and legal implications, as well as crime-and-justice issues, when dealing with violent offenders.
