Listen to the article
U.S. deportation practices came under scrutiny after a refugee who had been granted protection by a U.S. immigration judge was instead deported to Equatorial Guinea, where he now faces an uncertain future.
The 28-year-old East African refugee, who requested anonymity due to safety concerns, spent 13 months in U.S. immigration detention before a judge ruled he could not be returned to his home country due to the dangers he would face. Despite the ruling, immigration officials never released him.
“He told me: ‘Welcome to the U.S. You are now protected by the U.S. law, so you can leave the center, work and stay in this country,'” the refugee recounted to The Associated Press, which reviewed his legal documents.
Instead of freedom, the man was handcuffed and placed on a flight to Equatorial Guinea, an authoritarian petrostate in West Africa that has entered into a secretive deportation agreement with the United States. The nation has no established asylum system and currently holds multiple deportees in detention.
The refugee explained that he originally fled his home country after facing persecution, beatings, and imprisonment due to his ethnicity. Now he is among 29 individuals deported to Equatorial Guinea under what legal experts describe as a legal loophole being exploited by U.S. authorities.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has described Equatorial Guinea as “one of the most corrupt governments in the world.” The country is set to receive a visit from Pope Leo XIV in April, who has previously criticized the Trump administration’s migration policies as “extremely disrespectful.”
The AP investigation found that at least seven African nations have signed agreements with the U.S. to accept third-country nationals for deportation. Most deportees had received legal protections from U.S. judges that should have shielded them from being returned to their home countries.
Meredyth Yoon, litigation director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, who has assisted deportees sent to Equatorial Guinea, verified significant parts of the refugee’s account. “The U.S. is deporting people to third countries to circumvent laws that forbid sending a person to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened,” Yoon said.
“Once deported, these individuals face impossible alternatives: indefinite detention without access to counsel, or forced deportation to the very countries they fled from,” she added.
According to a visiting lawyer who requested anonymity due to safety concerns, the 29 people deported to Equatorial Guinea come from diverse countries including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mauritania, Angola, Congo, Chad, Georgia, Ghana, and Nigeria. The lawyer reported being denied access to most of the deportees by local authorities.
The refugee described troubling treatment during his time in U.S. detention. He claims Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pressured him to sign voluntary deportation papers and made racist comments, allegedly stating: “I never knew Black people could read and write.” When he refused to sign, he was transferred to a windowless room in Arizona for five months under poor conditions.
Despite an immigration judge denying his asylum claim but granting him protection under U.S. law and the U.N. Convention Against Torture, authorities proceeded with his removal. After multiple transfers across detention facilities, he was handcuffed and placed on an Omni Air International charter flight with other deportees.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson denied allegations of mistreatment, stating ICE officers “did NOT beat, coerce, or use racial slurs” against him. They characterized him as “an illegal alien” who “received due process and had a final order of removal.”
The deportees are currently held in a former hotel in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea’s former capital. “Most of us were sick because of the food. I was hospitalized for two days. There is also malaria here, two guys were hospitalized with that,” the refugee reported.
According to Yoon, 17 detainees have already been returned to their home countries after being told they had no other options in Equatorial Guinea. “Everyone who I’ve talked to since they left is not in a good situation,” she said. “Many of them are in hiding.”
A Senate Foreign Relations Committee report revealed the Trump administration has spent at least $40 million to deport approximately 300 migrants to countries other than their own. Equatorial Guinea reportedly received $7.5 million as part of its agreement, a sum that Senator Shaheen noted exceeds U.S. foreign assistance to the country over the past eight years.
For the 28-year-old asylum-seeker, his current situation represents a devastating limbo. “Before, we were immigrants with hope,” he said. “But here, there is no more hope.”
Fact Checker
Verify the accuracy of this article using The Disinformation Commission analysis and real-time sources.
18 Comments
This is a deeply troubling case that exposes serious flaws in the US immigration and deportation system. Deporting recognized refugees to countries without asylum systems is a clear violation of human rights that must be addressed.
What a disturbing case. The US must uphold its obligations to protect refugees and asylum seekers, not deport them to countries where they face persecution. This raises serious questions about the integrity of the US immigration system.
This case highlights the need for major reforms to the US immigration and deportation system. Deporting recognized refugees to countries where they face persecution undermines the core principles of refugee protection. More transparency and oversight is urgently required.
This case is a disturbing example of the human rights abuses inherent in the US deportation system. Sending recognized refugees to countries without asylum systems is a clear violation of international law that must be addressed.
Deporting refugees to Equatorial Guinea, a country without an asylum system, is a gross violation of human rights. The US must be held accountable for these secretive deportation deals that put people’s lives at risk.
This is a shocking and inhumane situation. The US must end these secretive deportation agreements and ensure proper legal proceedings and protections for all migrants and asylum seekers. Deporting refugees to countries without asylum systems is unacceptable.
This is a deeply concerning situation. The US should not be deporting recognized refugees to countries without proper asylum systems in place. More accountability and transparency is urgently needed around these deportation practices.
I agree, the US must ensure that deportation policies and agreements uphold international human rights standards. Sending vulnerable people to detention in Equatorial Guinea is unacceptable.
This is a disturbing case that highlights the troubling lack of transparency and accountability in US deportation policies. Deporting refugees to countries where they face persecution is a clear violation of human rights principles.
I agree, the secretive deal with Equatorial Guinea is extremely concerning. The US must ensure proper due process and protection of vulnerable refugees.
This is a shocking violation of human rights. The US must end these secretive deportation deals and ensure proper legal proceedings for all migrants and asylum seekers. Sending refugees to countries like Equatorial Guinea is inhumane.
Sending refugees to Equatorial Guinea, a country with no asylum system, is an appalling and inhumane act. The US must end these secretive deportation agreements and ensure proper legal proceedings for all migrants and asylum seekers.
I agree, the US is clearly violating international human rights standards with these deportation practices. They need to be held accountable and make major reforms to protect vulnerable refugees.
The US must end these secretive deportation deals and uphold its obligations to protect refugees and asylum seekers. Sending vulnerable people to Equatorial Guinea, a country without an asylum system, is an egregious human rights violation.
Absolutely. The lack of transparency and accountability around these deportation practices is extremely concerning. The US needs to make major reforms to ensure proper legal proceedings and protection for migrants.
The US must be held accountable for these secretive deportation deals that put vulnerable refugees at risk. Deporting people to countries like Equatorial Guinea, with no asylum protections, is an appalling violation of human rights.
Shame on the US for sending a recognized refugee to a country without an asylum system. This undermines the principles of refugee protection that the US claims to uphold. More oversight and scrutiny is needed.
Exactly, the lack of transparency around these deportation agreements is extremely troubling. The US should be held accountable for putting vulnerable people at risk.