{
  "site": "https://trumpswarcrimes.com",
  "generatedAt": "2026-04-08T03:57:56.464Z",
  "record": {
    "slug": "third-country-deportations-africa",
    "title": "Third-Country Deportations to Rwanda, Ghana, and South Sudan",
    "url": "https://trumpswarcrimes.com/incident/third-country-deportations-africa",
    "date": "2025-06-01",
    "lastUpdated": "2026-03-25",
    "displayDate": "June 1, 2025",
    "displayLastUpdated": "March 25, 2026",
    "summary": "The US paid Rwanda, Ghana, Eswatini, and South Sudan to accept deportees who are not their nationals, in deals a federal judge ruled unconstitutional. HRW called the expulsion agreements violations of international human rights law, and domestic lawsuits in Ghana challenge the deal's legality.",
    "category": "deportation",
    "categoryLabel": "Deportation & Immigration",
    "severity": "severe",
    "severityLabel": "Serious Rights Violation",
    "posture": "judicial-finding",
    "postureLabel": "Judicial finding",
    "ongoing": true,
    "victims": "Immigrants deported from the United States to countries where they have no nationality, ties, or legal status — including Rwanda, Ghana, Eswatini, and South Sudan. Deportees face arbitrary detention, lack of legal status, inability to access asylum, and potential exploitation in receiving countries.",
    "perpetrators": "Trump administration officials who negotiated the agreements, Department of Homeland Security, ICE, State Department, receiving country governments that accepted payments to detain non-nationals",
    "structuredVictims": [],
    "structuredPerpetrators": [],
    "legalBasis": "Refugee Convention Article 33 (non-refoulement), ICCPR Article 13 (due process for expulsion), CAT Article 3 (prohibition on transfer to torture risk), UDHR Article 14 (right to asylum), US Immigration and Nationality Act, Fifth Amendment due process",
    "tags": [
      "third-country deportation",
      "Rwanda",
      "Ghana",
      "Eswatini",
      "South Sudan",
      "non-refoulement",
      "due process",
      "unconstitutional"
    ],
    "keyPoints": [
      "Rwanda agreed to accept up to 250 deportees from the US under a deal involving approximately $7.5 million in US financial support. Eswatini accepted up to 160 deportees for $5.1 million.",
      "US District Judge Brian Murphy ruled the third-country deportation policy violates federal immigration law and migrants' constitutional right to due process.",
      "Human Rights Watch found the opaque deals violate international human rights law, with at least some agreements including US financial assistance to the receiving countries.",
      "In Ghana, Democracy Hub filed a lawsuit alleging the agreement is unconstitutional because it was not approved by parliament and may violate conventions forbidding sending people to countries where they face persecution.",
      "Deportees sent to countries where they have no ties, no legal status, and no support network face severe risks including arbitrary detention, exploitation, and inability to access asylum procedures."
    ],
    "sourceCount": 7,
    "documentCount": 2,
    "updateCount": 0,
    "warCrimeClassification": "potential",
    "internationalLaw": [
      {
        "statute": "UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees",
        "article": "Article 33",
        "provision": "Non-refoulement: prohibition on expulsion or return to a country where life or freedom would be threatened"
      },
      {
        "statute": "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights",
        "article": "Article 13",
        "provision": "Aliens lawfully in territory may only be expelled pursuant to a decision reached in accordance with law"
      },
      {
        "statute": "UN Convention Against Torture",
        "article": "Article 3",
        "provision": "No state shall expel a person to another state where there are substantial grounds for believing they would be in danger of being subjected to torture"
      },
      {
        "statute": "UDHR",
        "article": "Article 14",
        "provision": "Right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution"
      }
    ],
    "iccRelevance": false,
    "legalAnalyses": [
      {
        "title": "US/Africa: Expulsion Deals Flout Rights",
        "url": "https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/23/us/africa-expulsion-deals-flout-rights",
        "organization": "Human Rights Watch"
      },
      {
        "title": "The Toll of Trump's African Deportation Agreements",
        "url": "https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-toll-of-trumps-african-deportation-agreements/",
        "organization": "New Lines Magazine"
      },
      {
        "title": "The Dirty Deal with El Salvador",
        "url": "https://www.justsecurity.org/113026/us-agreement-el-salvador/",
        "organization": "Just Security"
      }
    ],
    "description": "The Trump administration established deportation agreements with Rwanda ($7.5M), Ghana, Eswatini ($5.1M), and South Sudan to accept immigrants deported from the United States who are not nationals of those countries. A federal judge ruled the policy violates federal immigration law and constitutional due process. Human Rights Watch found the opaque deals violate international human rights law, and Ghana's own courts face challenges to the agreement's constitutionality.",
    "postureNote": "A federal judge has ruled the policy unlawful. However, the administration has continued to negotiate and implement third-country agreements. Lawsuits are also pending in Ghana challenging the agreement's constitutionality under Ghanaian law.",
    "relatedIncidents": [
      "alien-enemies-act-mass-deportations",
      "cecot-deportation-torture",
      "abrego-garcia-wrongful-deportation",
      "cameroon-deportee-torture",
      "ice-deportation-flight-expansion"
    ],
    "sources": [
      {
        "url": "https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/23/us/africa-expulsion-deals-flout-rights",
        "title": "US/Africa: Expulsion Deals Flout Rights",
        "publisher": "Human Rights Watch"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-third-country-deportations-trump-administration/",
        "title": "Judge rules Trump administration's policy for third-country deportations is unlawful",
        "publisher": "CBS News"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/24/ghana-deportations-controversy-third-country-migrants-us-trump-deal/",
        "title": "What to Know About Ghana's Deportations Controversy",
        "publisher": "Foreign Policy"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-toll-of-trumps-african-deportation-agreements/",
        "title": "The Toll of Trump's African Deportation Agreements",
        "publisher": "New Lines Magazine"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://refugees.org/tcdtracker/",
        "title": "Third Country Deportations Tracker",
        "publisher": "US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Third-Country-Removals-Factsheet_1225.pdf",
        "title": "Third-Country Removals Fact Sheet",
        "publisher": "American Immigration Council"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/ghana-detention-and-secret-expulsions-raise-alarm-over-role-in-u-s-deportation-scheme",
        "title": "Ghana: Detention and Secret Expulsions Raise Alarm Over Role in U.S. Deportation Scheme",
        "publisher": "Global Detention Project"
      }
    ],
    "documents": [
      {
        "title": "Third Country Deportations Tracker",
        "url": "https://refugees.org/tcdtracker/",
        "publisher": "US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants",
        "type": "Data tracker",
        "note": "Ongoing tracker of all known third-country deportation agreements and their implementation."
      },
      {
        "title": "Third-Country Removals Fact Sheet",
        "url": "https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Third-Country-Removals-Factsheet_1225.pdf",
        "publisher": "American Immigration Council",
        "type": "Policy brief",
        "note": "December 2025 fact sheet documenting the scope and legal issues of third-country removal agreements."
      }
    ],
    "timeline": [
      {
        "date": "2025-06-01",
        "title": "Third-country deportation agreements become public",
        "summary": "Reports emerge that the Trump administration has negotiated agreements with multiple African countries to accept deportees from the United States who are not nationals of those countries, with financial payments attached."
      },
      {
        "date": "2025-09-23",
        "title": "Human Rights Watch condemns expulsion deals",
        "summary": "HRW publishes a detailed report finding that the US expulsion deals with Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan violate international human rights law, calling the agreements 'opaque' and dangerous."
      },
      {
        "date": "2025-09-24",
        "title": "Foreign Policy details Ghana deportation controversy",
        "summary": "Foreign Policy publishes an in-depth report on the political and legal controversy surrounding Ghana's acceptance of US deportees, including opposition challenges and civil society pushback."
      },
      {
        "date": "2025-10-14",
        "title": "Ghana rights group files constitutional lawsuit",
        "summary": "Democracy Hub files a lawsuit against the Ghanaian government, alleging the deportation agreement with the US is unconstitutional because it was not approved by parliament."
      },
      {
        "date": "2025-12-01",
        "title": "Federal judge rules third-country deportations unlawful",
        "summary": "US District Judge Brian Murphy rules the Trump administration's third-country removal policy violates federal immigration law and migrants' constitutional due process rights."
      }
    ],
    "updateLog": [],
    "contentHtml": "<h2 id=\"what-happened\">What Happened</h2>\n<p>The Trump administration negotiated a series of agreements with African countries to accept immigrants deported from the United States who are not nationals of those countries. These \"third-country deportation\" deals involve direct financial payments from the US government:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rwanda</strong>: Agreed to accept up to 250 deportees under a deal involving approximately $7.5 million in US financial support.</li>\n<li><strong>Eswatini</strong>: Accepted up to 160 deportees for $5.1 million, described as funding to \"build border and migration management capacity.\"</li>\n<li><strong>Ghana</strong>: Accepted deportees under a deal negotiated without parliamentary approval, sparking domestic constitutional challenges.</li>\n<li><strong>South Sudan</strong>: Accepted deportees under a separate agreement.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>The deportees sent to these countries have no ties to them — they are nationals of other countries who happened to be in the United States when detained. Upon arrival, they have no legal status, no support network, and limited ability to access asylum procedures or legal representation.</p>\n<h3 id=\"federal-court-ruling\">Federal Court Ruling</h3>\n<p>US District Judge Brian Murphy ruled that the administration's third-country removal policy violates federal immigration law and migrants' constitutional right to due process. The court found that the Immigration and Nationality Act does not authorize deportation of individuals to countries other than their country of nationality or last residence without adequate procedural protections.</p>\n<h3 id=\"international-condemnation\">International Condemnation</h3>\n<p>Human Rights Watch published a detailed report in September 2025 finding that the opaque deals violate international human rights law. HRW documented that the agreements lack transparency, provide inadequate protections against refoulement, and place deportees at risk of arbitrary detention and persecution in receiving countries.</p>\n<h3 id=\"domestic-challenges-in-receiving-countries\">Domestic Challenges in Receiving Countries</h3>\n<p>In Ghana, opposition lawmakers argued the agreement is unconstitutional because President Mahama's administration did not consult parliament. Democracy Hub, a Ghanaian civil society organization, filed a lawsuit alleging the agreement violates Ghana's constitution and international conventions prohibiting deportation to countries where individuals face persecution.</p>\n<h2 id=\"legal-analysis\">Legal Analysis</h2>\n<p>Third-country deportation raises fundamental legal concerns:</p>\n<p><strong>Non-refoulement</strong>: The Refugee Convention (Article 33) and the Convention Against Torture (Article 3) prohibit returning persons to countries where they face persecution or torture. Sending deportees to countries where they have no legal status and may face arbitrary detention violates these principles.</p>\n<p><strong>Due process</strong>: The ICCPR (Article 13) requires that expulsion decisions be made in accordance with law and provide procedural safeguards. The federal court ruling confirms that the policy fails these requirements under both US and international law.</p>\n<p><strong>Asylum rights</strong>: Deporting asylum seekers to third countries without assessing their claims denies the right to seek asylum guaranteed under the UDHR Article 14.</p>\n<h2 id=\"why-this-is-classified-severe\">Why This Is Classified Severe</h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Judicial finding of illegality</strong>: A federal judge has ruled the policy violates federal law and constitutional due process.</li>\n<li><strong>Financial coercion of developing nations</strong>: Paying countries millions to accept non-nationals creates a transactional deportation system that undermines international refugee protection.</li>\n<li><strong>Non-refoulement risks</strong>: Deportees face detention, exploitation, and persecution in countries where they have no legal status or ties.</li>\n<li><strong>Scale and systematization</strong>: Multiple agreements with multiple countries indicate a deliberate policy to circumvent immigration law, not isolated incidents.</li>\n<li><strong>Domestic illegality in receiving countries</strong>: Challenges in Ghana suggest the agreements may be unconstitutional in the receiving countries as well.</li>\n</ul>\n<h2 id=\"international-law-violations\">International Law Violations</h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Refugee Convention Article 33 (Non-refoulement)</strong>: Deportation to countries where individuals may face persecution or where there is no functioning asylum system.</li>\n<li><strong>ICCPR Article 13</strong>: Expulsion without decisions made in accordance with law and adequate procedural safeguards.</li>\n<li><strong>CAT Article 3</strong>: Transfer of persons to countries where they face risks of torture or cruel treatment.</li>\n<li><strong>UDHR Article 14</strong>: Denial of the right to seek and enjoy asylum.</li>\n</ol>",
    "citation": "Third-Country Deportations to Rwanda, Ghana, and South Sudan. https://trumpswarcrimes.com/incident/third-country-deportations-africa. Published June 1, 2025. Updated March 25, 2026."
  }
}