US has deported 25,000 to third countries under secretive deals: Report
AI generated
asserted
US → deport → deals
The United States has deported more than 25,000 people under secretive agreements with 35 countries to take migrants with no ties to those nations, according to an investigation published on Sept 21.
uncertain
States → deport → Sept
Since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, Washington has been signing deals with developing countries to take migrants who cannot legally be sent home.
asserted
who → take → migrants
The investigation by Forbidden Stories found the administration has earmarked US$410 million (S$523 million) to be paid directly to the receiving countries, or to UN agencies to facilitate the returns.
asserted
administration → find → returns
At least 25,447 people had already been deported to third countries by Aug 31, 2026, according to data compiled by Forbidden Stories with a consortium of international journalists.
uncertain
people → deport → journalists
The vast majority – around 20,000 – were sent to Mexico, but the rest were dispersed to 27 other countries across Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific, and agreements have been finalised with seven more.
asserted
agreements → send → seven
The deals vary, including over which nationalities can be deported and whether people with criminal records can be accepted.
asserted
people → vary → records
An AFP investigation earlier in 2026 found Washington is using visa bans and restrictions on African countries to strong-arm them into accepting deportees.
asserted
Washington → find → deportees
Lawyers told AFP that deportees were being thrown into a “legal black hole”, held without charge in countries where they have no ties and few if any rights.
asserted
they → tell → ties
Forbidden Stories said 49 of Africa’s 54 countries had been approached about accepting third-country deportees.
asserted
49 → say → deportees
A little-known State Department division called the Office of Remigration, created in May 2025, has handled most of the negotiations and payments, according to Forbidden Stories.
uncertain
division → know → Stories
The office is headed by Christian Jove Ehrhardt, a 41-year-old diplomat who previously worked as a security officer.
asserted
who → head → officer
The report details his visits to Cameroon, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the US in December on accepting deportees.
asserted
which → detail → deportees
A week later, it also signed a five-year health assistance programme worth nearly US$400 million.
asserted
it → sign → programme
The following month, the State Department said it would provide a further US$30 million to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Cameroon to “facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and combat illegal immigration”.
asserted
it → say → immigration
The first plane carrying deportees arrived in Cameroon on Jan 14.
asserted
plane → carry → Jan
Payments
Other agreements have involved direct payments to governments.
asserted
agreements → involve → governments
Palau, a small Pacific island nation with a population of under 18,000, signed an agreement in December 2025 to accept up to 75 third-country nationals in return for U$7.5 million.
asserted
Palau → sign → million
However, only three people have so far been sent under the agreement.
asserted
people → send → agreement
In Eswatini, 32 people have arrived since July 2025 out of a possible 160 under an agreement worth more than US$5 million.
asserted
people → arrive → agreement
It has accepted deportees with criminal records, the investigation found.
asserted
investigation → accept → records
Of the US$410 million planned for the agreements, internal State Department records showed that US$81 million was earmarked for signatory governments.
asserted
million → plan → governments
The rest was intended for aid organisations, including more than US$178 million for the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and US$123 million for UNHCR.
asserted
rest → intend → UNHCR
The agencies have faced criticism over their involvement, although UNHCR told Forbidden Stories that it was not party to the bilateral agreements and that US funding was being used in line with its mandate to strengthen asylum systems.
asserted
funding → face → systems
An IOM spokesperson told Forbidden Stories that the agency’s decisions to accept funding rested “on a single question: whether our engagement will improve the lives of the migrants affected.
asserted
engagement → tell → migrants
In these instances, we believe strongly it does”.
asserted
it → believe → instances
The Aporia
