The United States has sharply expanded its use of third-country deportations, sending migrants and asylum seekers to countries other than their homelands, according to an Al Jazeera report published on 15 October 2026. The policy has drawn criticism from international human rights organisations and raised concerns about the protections available to people removed under the system.
US immigration authorities have increased detentions and deportations since Donald Trump took office in January 2025. The administration has also sought arrangements with foreign governments willing to accept people who cannot, or are not being, returned directly to their countries of origin.
The scale of the practice is reflected in two sets of figures cited by Al Jazeera. The Department of Homeland Security’s data recorded more than 16,000 third-country deportation cases between January 2025 and August 2026. That information was provided to the Deportation Data Project, based at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles, and analysed by Al Jazeera. The report cautioned that the official figure was likely an undercount.
Separately, the organisations Refugees International and Human Rights First estimated that more than 25,000 people had been subject to forcible third-country deportations, drawing on media reports and information from attorneys. The figures come from different sources and should not be treated as equivalent counts.
The arrangements vary by destination. According to the report, El Salvador and Eswatini have agreed to hold some deportees in prisons, while other countries have accepted people temporarily or entered into arrangements allowing them to pursue asylum claims outside the United States. Cameroon agreed in December 2025 to accept third-country nationals from the US, the report said. Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 deportees.
These agreements connect the domestic US immigration crackdown directly to the responsibilities of foreign governments. The report said Washington had offered financial assistance or business and visa concessions in exchange for countries accepting people the administration wants to remove. It cited a US commitment of $124 million for Liberia’s health services and a pledge of $30 million for United Nations refugee work in Cameroon, alongside a further $400 million over coming years for Cameroon’s health services.
The policy has also raised questions about the treatment of asylum seekers. US law and international treaties, including the United Nations Convention Against Torture, prohibit deportation to a country where a person would face persecution or torture. People seeking asylum are supposed to have an opportunity to explain the dangers they might face if returned home.
Human rights groups cited by Al Jazeera have warned that deportees may arrive in unfamiliar countries without knowledge of the language or adequate identity documents. Critics also question whether those countries can provide fair consideration of asylum claims and prevent people from being sent back to places where they face persecution. Some US courts have ruled against the practice, although the Supreme Court allowed it to continue, including in a September ruling, according to the report.
The immediate documented consequence extends beyond US borders: foreign governments are taking custody of people removed by American authorities, while some receive US financial or other concessions as part of the arrangements. The figures and agreements illustrate the international reach of the deportation programme, while the legal and humanitarian disputes over the treatment of those sent abroad remain unresolved in the cited report.