A deportation flight carrying migrants removed from the United States has landed in the Kingdom of Eswatini, according to an announcement by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The operation follows a recent ruling by the US Supreme Court which lifted restrictions on deporting individuals to so-called “third countries.”
In an online statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that five individuals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, and Yemen were aboard the flight. All five had been convicted of serious crimes, including child rape and murder.
“A safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed. This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,” McLaughlin said on Tuesday evening.
The deportation marks one of several carried out by the Trump administration since the Supreme Court ruling in late June. The decision enabled US immigration officials to resume deportations to countries other than a migrant’s country of origin, without requiring prior proof of potential harm in the receiving nation.
On 4 July, the US completed another controversial deportation involving eight migrants sent to South Sudan, a country still mired in conflict. Originally placed on a flight in May, the men were diverted to a military base in Djibouti, where they were held in a converted shipping container.
When asked about the fate of the deported individuals, US Border Czar Tom Homan said last week, “If we removed somebody to Sudan, they could stay there a week and leave, I don’t know.”
A memo released earlier this month by the acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Todd Lyons, revealed that under new policy guidelines, migrants may be deported to third countries with as little as six hours’ notice in “exigent circumstances”. Ordinarily, the notice period stands at 24 hours.
The memo also stated that the US may deport migrants to countries that have provided assurances against persecution or torture without requiring further legal processes. Critics argue that such assurances are often insufficient or unenforceable, particularly in regions with poor human rights records.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is the last absolute monarchy on the African continent. Led by King Mswati III since 1986, the country has been frequently criticised for human rights violations and the extravagant lifestyle of its ruler. Landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique, Eswatini has limited infrastructure and capacity to receive foreign deportees.
Human rights organisations have condemned the expanding scope of US deportation efforts, citing violations of due process, legal transparency, and international norms.
“The Trump administration is pushing the boundaries of both morality and legality,” said one international legal analyst. “Sending vulnerable individuals to unstable or authoritarian countries without sufficient oversight is not just reckless, it’s potentially life-threatening.”
Despite the backlash, the White House has continued to defend the measures as vital to enhancing domestic security and maintaining immigration control.
As deportations to third countries accelerate, attention now turns to how receiving nations, such as Eswatini, will manage the legal, ethical, and social implications of harbouring individuals expelled from the United States under increasingly controversial circumstances.
