The government of Esvatini’s small inland African country has confirmed that it has received five individuals who have been deported from the United States under President Donald Trump.
In a statement Wednesday, a spokesman for the Esvatini government said the deportation was “the result of months of robust high levels of involvement.”
“Five prisoners are located in the country and housed in a correctional facility within an isolated unit where “similar offenders are kept,” wrote spokesman Thabile Mdluli.
However, she appeared to acknowledge human rights concerns about accepting individuals from abroad who are not Esvatini from their country of origin.
“As a responsible member of the global community, the Kingdom of Eswatini ensures that it adheres to international agreements and diplomatic protocols regarding the repatriation of individuals and follows legitimate processes and respect for human rights,” Mdluli said.
Her statement also indicated that Esvatini will work with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Deportation is part of a broad trend under the Trump administration to force foreigners abroad into countries other than their own countries.
The White House argues that deportation from these third countries is necessary for individuals whose home countries do not accept them. However, critics argue that the Trump administration relies on countries with a history of documented human rights abuses to accept exiles, thereby putting them at risk of inhuman treatment.
There are also concerns that deportation under Trump is happening so quickly that those facing deportation are unable to challenge removal in court and are violating their rights of legitimate proceedings.
On Tuesday, U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesman Tricia McLaughlin revealed his recent deportation to Eswatini, identifying the affected individuals as citizens of Laos, Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba and Yemen.
“A safe third-country deportation flight to Esvatini in South Africa has landed,” McLaughlin wrote on social media. “This flight was very wild in the individuals and their homeland refused to take them back.”
She claimed that the exile was convicted of crimes such as murder, child rape and assault, calling it a “dropped monster” that “terrified the American community.”
The Trump administration likened immigration to the US to “aggression,” and while Trump himself has repeatedly linked undocumented people to crime, research shows that he is less criminal than American-born citizens.
Since taking office in January for his second term, Trump has launched a massive deportation campaign. As part of that push, his government deported criminals to third-party countries such as El Salvador and South Sudan.
For example, in March, the Trump administration deported an estimated 200 Venezuelans to El Salvador. In El Salvador, his head was shaved and imprisoned in the National Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT), the largest security prison compared to torture.
The Trump administration reportedly paid nearly $6 million to jail a man in El Salvador.
It was then revealed in May that the Trump administration planned to deport immigrants to Libya.
A federal court immediately blocked the deportation, and Libyan government officials denied the report. However, the immigrant lawyers involved told us the media that the flight had almost taken off and instead stagnated on the airport runway as a result of a court order.
Later that same month, countries that the US State Department itself acknowledged “significant human rights issues” left the United States with eight deporters directed towards South Sudan.
These concerns include reliable reports of extrajudicial killings, torture and “life-threatening prison conditions.” The State Department discourages travel to the country.
The flight to South Sudan was eventually decouped to Djibouti after a federal court in Massachusetts determined that eight men on board were not given enough opportunities to challenge the deportation. The men came from countries including Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Cuba and Vietnam.
However, on June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a short, unsigned order allowing the lower court to lift the ruling and proceed with deportation into South Sudan.
But the three left-leaning justice on the Supreme Court issued a ferocious 19-page opposition, calling the majority decision “bad” abuse of court power and accusing the president of overtaking the president’s actions.
“The government has made it clear in its words and actions that it feels in itself unconstrained by the law. Anyone can be deported freely without notice or opportunity to hear,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
“In this case, there is no evidence that the government has decided on the countries it has designated so far (Libya, El Salvador, South Sudan)”[ould] Do not torture the plaintiff. ”
Critics have expressed similar concerns about migrants sent to Eswatini, a country of 1.23 million people located in the northeast of South Africa.
Esvatini is considered an absolute monarchy, and its leader, King Mwati III, has been accused of imposing opposition through violence.
For example, in 2021, security forces allegedly killed dozens of protesters involved in democratic demonstrations. In the aftermath, several politicians were sentenced to decades in prison to incite violence, critics say it was launched to silence the voices of opposition.
Still, on Wednesday, the Esvatini government defended its commitment to human rights in a statement to its people.
He also said the decision to accept five powerhouses from the US was made in the interests of both countries.
“The Kingdom of Esvatini and the United States have enjoyed fruitful bilateral relationships over 50 years,” the statement said.
“As such, all agreements concluded are made with extreme care and consideration, putting the interests of both countries at the forefront.”
A memo obtained by the Washington Post earlier this week shows that Trump administration officials may be deliberately deporting individuals to countries where human rights are not guaranteed.
That memo dated July 9 acknowledged that, as long as certain conditions are met, immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) may exclude non-citizens from third-party countries, even if they do not receive a reliable diplomatic guarantee for the use of torture or persecution.
These deportations added by the memo could be made with just six hours of notice under “emergency circumstances.”
