Investigation exposes US government's secret deportation deals with dozens of nations
Since 2025 the US has deported more than 25,000 people to countries that are not their own under secret agreements with 35 nations; a federal appeals court has now ruled the practice unlawful.
A cross-border journalism investigation has revealed that the US government, since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, has struck secret agreements with dozens of countries to deport migrants and asylum seekers to third nations with which they often have no connection at all.
The Guardian joined 23 other media organisations in the Deportation Project, a joint investigation coordinated by Forbidden Stories. Reporters reviewed documents and interviewed more than 100 people while examining the US campaign against unauthorised immigration.
Individual cases
Among the cases documented is that of an Iranian woman who, after a flight in shackles, found herself in an African country she had not previously known existed. Human rights lawyers describe these so-called third-country arrangements as a US "show of force" designed to discourage migrants and asylum seekers from attempting to enter the country.
People from Peru and Colombia have reportedly been sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On 20 August, four Cubans, a Brazilian and a Cameroonian refused to disembark in Liberia and were instead flown on to Equatorial Guinea.
Scale and legal ruling
Since 2025, the US has deported more than 25,000 people to countries other than their own, under 35 such cross-border arrangements.
Last Friday, a federal appeals court ruled that the third-country removals policy is unlawful. A three-judge panel unanimously found that the practice violates due process rights. The government now has 90 days to appeal the ruling, and is widely expected to do so.
