Eleven migrants deported from the United States have arrived in Eswatini, marking the fourth group sent to the southern African nation under President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement expansion. Among them are at least two individuals who hold legal protections in the U.S., according to a U.S. immigration attorney familiar with the cases—status that typically shields migrants from removal due to risks in their home countries. Since July 2025, 19 people have been transferred to Eswatini under a "third-country" agreement, with two—originally from Jamaica and Cambodia—repatriated to their home nations, while 17 remain detained without charge in a high-security prison. The nationality of the latest group has not been disclosed. An anonymous government source confirmed that an official convoy received the deportees at Eswatini's main international airport. The country, ruled by King Mswati III as Africa's last absolute monarchy, admitted last year to receiving approximately $5.1 million from the U.S. to accept the deportees. Amnesty International has condemned the program as "deeply abusive," citing indefinite detention and lack of due process. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to inquiries about the latest transfer. The Trump administration maintains that it is legally permitted to send protected migrants to third countries, even if they cannot be returned directly to their home nations. Under the policy shift in Trump's second term, eligibility for deportation has broadened to include some with humanitarian protections. While Eswatini has held deportees indefinitely, other countries like Ghana have refused long-term detention and returned individuals to their countries of origin.
The U.S. is using financial incentives to transfer migrants with legal protections to Eswatini, where they face indefinite detention without charge. Two of the 19 deportees have already been repatriated from Eswatini to Jamaica and Cambodia, showing the arrangement does not guarantee permanent relocation. The $5.1 million payment to King Mswati III's government raises concerns about the commodification of human displacement. Migrants once shielded from danger are now held in a high-security prison under a policy that exploits legal loopholes.
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