US Deports Criminal Migrants to Third Countries, Including Those with No Ties

Kokcha News Agency reports that the United States is deporting criminal migrants to third countries where they have no familial or citizenship connections, according to a Reuters investigation.

This policy has led to some migrants, who had made the U.S. their second home years ago, being sent to remote locations such as South Sudan, Eswatini, or even threatened with deportation to Libya.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has stated that some countries refuse to accept their own citizens, forcing the U.S. to send criminal migrants to other nations.

However, Reuters found that in some cases, after court rulings, these migrants were eventually returned to their home countries.

One example highlighted by Reuters involves five migrants, including citizens of Vietnam, Laos, and Mexico, who were initially threatened with deportation to Libya but were eventually returned to their home countries after legal intervention.

One Laotian man affected by this policy said:
“The U.S. used us as pawns. The country they threatened to send me to had nothing to do with me.”

The White House has defended the policy, stating that those sent to South Sudan and Eswatini were among the most dangerous criminals, including individuals convicted of murder, rape, or child abuse in the U.S.

However, critics in the U.S. argue that this move is more of a political tactic to instill fear among migrants rather than a necessity for legal or security reasons.