Joe
MANZINI, Eswatini — A group of 10 migrants deported from the United States arrived early Monday in Eswatini, as part of a controversial third-country deportation program that has drawn criticism from human rights organizations.
The southern African nation confirmed in a statement that the individuals had been “securely accommodated” in a correctional facility, though it did not disclose their names, nationalities, or specific location.
Authorities said the deportees were in good health and undergoing admission procedures.
The group is the latest to be removed under largely undisclosed agreements the U.S. struck with at least five African nations. Since July, more than 40 individuals have been deported to the continent under the Trump-era policy.
Tin Thanh Nguyen, a U.S.-based attorney, told The Associated Press he represents two of the deportees, both Vietnamese nationals. According to Nguyen, they were previously held at the Alexandria Staging Facility in Louisiana and were flown to Eswatini via a multi-stop route through Puerto Rico, Senegal, and Angola. He tracked the flight with help from the rights organization Human Rights First.
This marks the second known group sent to Eswatini. In July, four men from Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen were deported to the kingdom and have since been held without charge in the country’s maximum-security Matsapha prison, according to their lawyers. Nguyen also represents two of those individuals.
While the U.S. maintains that the men deported in July were convicted criminals with valid deportation orders, critics argue that the program strips migrants of due process and places them in unsafe or unlawful detention.
One Jamaican man from the July group was later repatriated to his home country. The remaining men have been permitted phone contact with family and legal representatives in the U.S., though an Eswatini-based lawyer has not been allowed to visit. Despite a court ruling granting him access, the Eswatini government immediately appealed, effectively blocking the visit.
Human Rights Watch revealed that the U.S. will pay Eswatini $5.1 million under an agreement to accept up to 160 deportees. Details of this and similar deals with South Sudan, Rwanda, Ghana, and Uganda have not been publicly disclosed.
Currently, six deportees are reportedly held in an undisclosed South Sudanese facility, while Rwanda has not released information on the whereabouts of seven deportees. In Ghana, 11 out of 14 individuals deported are suing the government, claiming they are being held in poor conditions at a military facility outside the capital, Accra.
Eswatini’s government reiterated Monday that it “remains committed to the humane treatment of all persons in its custody.” However, legal and human rights advocates continue to raise alarms over the opaque nature of the agreements and the conditions under which deportees are being held.
PeakNews Online
