The United States has deported more than 40,000 migrants to countries other than their own under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, including about 900 removals involving African countries, according to preliminary government data shared with Reuters.
Third-country deportations, which were rare before Trump returned to office, have expanded under his administration as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol send migrants to countries other than their nations of origin.
The policy has faced legal challenges, but the US Supreme Court on Tuesday put a hold on a lower court ruling restricting the practice, allowing the Trump administration to continue third-country deportations while the court prepares to hear arguments in December.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the policy, describing third-country removals as an important part of immigration enforcement.
“Third country removals are an essential public safety tool,” DHS spokesman Chandler Rebel said.
A Reuters investigation documented the cases of 40 migrants sent to third countries, including people from Africa, Iraq, Jamaica and Russia, through interviews with deportees and immigration lawyers and a review of hundreds of pages of legal documents.
Of those 40 cases, 16 migrants remain in the countries to which they were deported, with some still detained, while another 16 were subsequently repatriated to their countries of origin against their will.
Nine others are in hiding in third countries, while the whereabouts of one Ghanaian man are unknown.
