US Deports 25,000 Migrants to 35 Third Countries Under $410 Million Secret Deals
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 21
US Deports 25,000 Migrants to 35 Third Countries Under $410 Million Secret Deals
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 21
Summary
At least 25,447 people had been sent to third countries by Aug. 31 under Trump-era agreements with 35 nations, according to a Forbidden Stories investigation published Monday.
More than 20,000 were deported to Mexico, while others were dispersed to 27 countries across Latin America, Africa and the Pacific because the migrants could not legally be returned home.
The administration earmarked $410 million for the program—$81 million for host governments and the rest largely for IOM and UNHCR—with a State Department Office of Remigration handling most negotiations and payments.
Country deals tied deportations to aid or direct payments: Cameroon signed on before nearly $400 million in health assistance and $30 million for UNHCR, while Palau agreed to take up to 75 people for $7.5 million.
Lawyers told AFP deportees were being pushed into a 'legal black hole,' and an earlier AFP investigation found Washington used visa restrictions to pressure African countries to accept them.
Why are global humanitarian agencies receiving millions while denying any role in these controversial international deportation deals?
Will a recent federal court ruling finally close the legal black hole trapping thousands of vulnerable deportees abroad?
25,000 Migrants, 35 Countries: The Scale, Cost, and Human Toll of America’s Third-Country Deportation Policy
Overview
This report examines the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy, which faced a major legal setback in September 2026 when a federal appeals court ruled it unlawful for violating migrants’ due process rights. Despite this, the administration continued deportations while appealing to the Supreme Court. The policy’s rapid expansion was driven by the newly created Office of Remigration, which secured deals with dozens of countries, often using financial incentives and diplomatic pressure. Meanwhile, drastic U.S. funding cuts to humanitarian agencies in Mexico severely weakened local asylum systems, leaving many migrants stranded and vulnerable. The ongoing legal and humanitarian crises highlight the deep tensions between aggressive enforcement and basic rights.