- Amnesty International urged thirteen African nations to reject secretive third-country deportation deals with the United States.
- The organization warns that transferred migrants face arbitrary detention and illegal refoulement to dangerous countries.
- A separate executive order targets birth tourism by restricting visas and denying entry to pregnant travelers.
Amnesty International urged African governments Monday to reject U.S. third-country deportation arrangements, warning that secretive deals can expose transferred people to arbitrary detention, refoulement and further removal to countries where they face persecution.
The organization identified 13 sub-Saharan African countries that have signed such arrangements with Washington: Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Uganda.
Amnesty issued its latest warning on August 5, 2026. Regional directors Marceau Sivieude and Tigere Chagutah said African states must “refuse to be complicit” with the U.S. policy of third-country removals, which they said exposes migrants to severe human-rights abuses and violates international law.
The appeal comes as the Trump administration expands immigration enforcement. President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order on August 6, 2026, directing the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to consider denying entry, revoking visas, permanently barring entry and removing people who enter or try to enter the United States to give birth.
The order covers entry on a nonimmigrant visa for that purpose, as well as efforts to help someone do so. It includes humanitarian and national-interest exceptions.
Eswatini transfers have reached at least 30 people
Amnesty has focused on Eswatini, where at least 25 more people were reportedly removed from the United States after an original group of five deportees. The reported total reached at least 30, including 11 people who reportedly arrived on July 8, 2026.
Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, said Eswatini authorities “must stop facilitating these unlawful transfers.” The organization has also called for the immediate release of people detained under the arrangement.
The reported conditions have intensified the criticism. Deportees have been held in “hotels, military camps, and airports,” often without access to legal counsel. Reports from July also described nursing mothers and children caught in enforcement operations, resulting in family separations.
A separate case involved 17 people from Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran who were forcibly removed to Bangui in the Central African Republic on June 12, 2026. They had no ties to the country and faced the risk of being sent onward to places where they feared persecution.
Amnesty says such transfers can breach the non-refoulement principle. That protection generally bars sending people to places where they face persecution or serious harm.
| Reported development | Detail |
|---|---|
| African countries with U.S. arrangements | 13 |
| People removed to third countries between January and December 2025 | Estimated 15,000 |
| People flown to African third-party states over the past year | More than 100 |
| Reported Eswatini payment | $5 million |
| People reportedly transferred to Eswatini | At least 30 |
The Migration Policy Institute estimated that 15,000 people were removed to third countries between January and December 2025. Amnesty separately counted more than 100 people flown specifically to African third-party states over the past year.
Eswatini reportedly signed a $5 million agreement with Washington to accept deportees. The arrangement has drawn scrutiny because people sent there may have no family, language or other connection to the country.
African rights standards give the governments a basis to refuse
Amnesty is citing a resolution adopted in November 2025 by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It urged states not to conclude or maintain migration partnerships when there is a real risk of serious human-rights violations.
Amnesty’s regional offices intensified the campaign on August 9, 2026, pressing leaders in Ghana, Uganda and Rwanda to rescind their secret agreements. The appeal asks governments to reject arrangements that could facilitate arbitrary detention, refoulement or onward removal.
The organization’s wider list includes countries with different relationships with Washington, but the reported arrangements share a central feature: the United States can send non-African nationals to African states where they may have no meaningful ties. Some transferred people had already received protection from removal to their countries of nationality.
The 13 countries named by Amnesty are:
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eswatini
- Ghana
- Liberia
- Rwanda
- Sierra Leone
- South Sudan
- Uganda
The commission’s resolution gives the campaign a regional human-rights framework. Amnesty says governments should apply that standard before accepting additional transfers or maintaining existing arrangements.
Visa enforcement now targets childbirth-related travel
The administration’s separate visa campaign has already affected decisions in Africa. In June 2026, the State Department revoked over 100 visas in West Africa and another 100+ in North Africa over alleged networks linked to childbirth travel.
Trump described U.S. citizenship as “among the greatest inheritances the nation can bestow” and warned against treating it “as a commodity to be acquired through calculated [birth tourism].” Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said the crackdown “keeps American citizenship sacred.”
Markwayne Mullin, the secretary of Homeland Security, described the practice as a “national security risk.” The August order directs the two departments to use visa, entry and removal authorities against people believed to be traveling for that purpose, subject to the stated exceptions.
Trump also signed a second order on August 6, 2026, identifying categories of children it says are not entitled to birthright citizenship. Those categories include children of foreign diplomats, “alien enemies” and children connected to commercial childbirth services.
That action followed the Supreme Court’s June 30, 2026 ruling in Trump v. Barbara, which reaffirmed birthright citizenship while leaving room for the administration to target what the policy materials describe as “fictional” residences.
Immigration advocacy groups filed legal challenges to the newest orders on August 10, 2026, citing the Trump v. Barbara precedent. The administration’s broader legislative agenda also combines an expanded child tax credit for citizens with funding for aggressive deportation measures through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The removal arrangements create another route for sending people away from the United States, including people who may have protection claims involving their countries of nationality. Amnesty’s appeal asks African governments to reject that role where transfers could lead to detention, onward removal or persecution.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
