ICE sends Afghans, Iranians and others to Africa in expanding deportation crackdown

Trump administration sends more than 100 deportees to countries they have never called home

A new deportation frontier

The Trump administration is dramatically expanding its controversial “third country” deportation programme, sending more than 100 people from Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Iran, Nepal, Turkey, Venezuela and elsewhere to African countries where they have no connection.

Internal US government documents obtained by CBS News show that three ICE deportation flights over a period of just 10 days delivered detainees to eight African nations — Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Liberia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

None of those deported were nationals of the countries receiving them.

The flights represent another major escalation in President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, as Washington increasingly relies on agreements with foreign governments to accept deportees who cannot, or will not, be returned directly to their countries of origin.

From Afghanistan to the Central African Republic

One of the most striking cases involves a 24-year-old Afghan man identified only as Khalil.

He entered the United States in 2024 and remained in ICE custody throughout his time in the country. In August 2025, an immigration judge granted him withholding of removal, determining that he could face persecution if returned to Afghanistan.

That protection prevented ICE from sending him directly back to Afghanistan.

It did not, however, prevent the administration from sending him somewhere else.

Khalil was subsequently placed on an ICE flight bound for the Central African Republic — a country with no apparent connection to him and one that the US State Department warns Americans to avoid because of widespread violence and insecurity.

His family also has a direct history of helping the United States during the Afghanistan war. One brother served alongside American forces, while another reportedly fought the Taliban as a pilot and was killed.

'We have to keep that promise'

The case has triggered anger from people who served alongside Khalil's family.

Zachary Schmidt, a US Marine colonel who supervised Khalil's brother during his deployment, warned that sending him to the Central African Republic could put his life at risk.

Schmidt said the United States had effectively made a promise to Afghans who assisted American forces.

“We have to keep that promise,” he said.

Khalil's lawyer has gone further, arguing that his case demonstrates how the administration's expanding third-country system could undermine international refugee protections.

Not everyone is a criminal

The administration's third-country deportation programme is particularly controversial because those being sent abroad are not all convicted criminals.

Some deportees sent to African nations have criminal records, including people convicted of violent offences.

But CBS News reports that many others have no criminal history beyond immigration violations or lacking the documentation required to remain legally in the United States.

That distinction is likely to become central to the political battle over the programme.

The administration argues that people who have no legal right to remain in America should be removed.

Critics argue that sending them to distant countries where they have no family, language, employment or community ties creates an entirely new humanitarian problem.

Africa becomes America's deportation destination

More than 30 countries worldwide have now agreed to accept some form of third-country deportation from the United States.

The network is increasingly expanding into Africa, with countries including the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan becoming part of Washington's deportation arrangements.

Some countries have reportedly limited their agreements to accepting nationals from elsewhere in Africa.

Others have accepted people from Latin America, Asia and Europe.

The latest ICE flight delivered deportees to Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, where armed conflict and insecurity remain serious concerns.

Washington says the choice is theirs

The Trump administration insists the policy is lawful.

The Department of Homeland Security said that when an illegal immigrant challenges removal to their home country in court, the government is required to find a safe and secure third country.

DHS also said that people who choose to return home can receive a free flight and a $3,000 payment.

The State Department declined to comment on private diplomatic arrangements or the authenticity of leaked documents, but said implementing Trump's immigration policies remained a priority.

The deportation map is getting much bigger

The significance of the latest flights goes beyond the individual cases.

America's deportation system is increasingly no longer simply about sending people home.

It is becoming a global network in which people can be removed from the United States and transported thousands of miles to countries they have never called home.

For the Trump administration, that may be precisely the point: make deportation possible even when direct removal to the country of origin is blocked.

For critics, however, the question is becoming harder to avoid:

When does deporting someone stop being “sending them home” — and become simply sending them somewhere else?

SOURCE

Makes you* wonder how many of his dear, dear filthy rich friends are in those missing files that he keeps hiding 😘

*Unless you're a Don't Care Pedobear, then you don't give a <deleted>