- The administration sent at least 450 people to Africa through secret removal deals by August thirty-first, twenty twenty-six.
- More than twenty-five thousand people were transferred to third countries since January twenty twenty-five, according to the investigation.
- A federal appeals court ruled the third-country removals policy unlawful, yet the program remained active on September twenty-first, twenty twenty-six.
The Trump administration sent at least 450 people to 12 African countries through secret or opaque removal agreements by August 31, 2026, an investigation found. The transfers formed part of a wider system that moved more than 25,000 people to countries other than their own since January 2025.
The people were detained by ICE before being removed from the United States. The Africa-focused findings describe a policy that has become a central tool of the administration’s immigration agenda.
The project, coordinated by Forbidden Stories with 26 media outlets, examined the arrangements over seven months. Its findings identified 35 agreements across six continents and at least $410 million pledged by the United States to support them.
The system has drawn legal challenges and criticism from human rights lawyers. It also remains active as of September 21, 2026.
Human rights lawyers called the policy a “show of force” designed to deter migrants and asylum seekers from entering the United States. The arrangement also exploits a gap between the legal bar on returning people to places where they may be persecuted and the administration’s ability to send them elsewhere.
Under the policy, a person can leave the United States for a country with no connection to that person’s nationality. Nika, identified in broader reporting on the program, was among the more than 25,000 people transferred through such arrangements.
The African arrangements cover a dozen recipients and a wider diplomatic push
The reporting names 13 African countries in connection with the deals. Twelve had received deportees by August 31, 2026, while Libya appears among the countries tied to the wider arrangements.
| Country or countries | Reported detail |
|---|---|
| Ghana | Received more than 100 people, the largest number among African destinations |
| Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone and Eswatini | Each received dozens of people |
| Eswatini | Deal allows up to 150 deportees; the United States paid $5.1 million directly and sent 19 migrants |
| Liberia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Cape Verde and South Sudan | Identified among the African countries connected to the arrangements |
| Libya | Named in the reporting on the African agreements |
The agreements with African governments developed through political and financial pressure, discreet bargaining, and offers connected to trade and tariffs. The figures show a system that combined individual transfers with a broader diplomatic campaign.
The agreements leave receiving governments control over each transfer
Documents covering the arrangements commonly allow a receiving government to accept or reject deportees. Some also reserve the right to deport them onward.
One group of agreements requires Washington to provide the receiving government with a list of passengers at least seven days before a deportation flight. The notice gives officials time to decide whether to accept each person.
Cameroon committed to treat transferred people in line with international law. It also agreed to prevent persecution or torture inside the country or after any onward transfer.
Those provisions place responsibility for the next stage with the receiving government. A person removed from the United States may therefore face another decision about custody, residence or removal after arrival.
People deported through the system have faced shelters, lawsuits and threats
In Yaoundé, deportees are staying in a temporary state shelter. Cameroonian lawyer Joseph Ava Fru filed a lawsuit seeking to suspend the agreement between Washington and Yaoundé.
The individual cases described in the investigation include an Iranian woman sent to the Central African Republic. Another case involved a gay Ghanaian man returned to Ghana and threatened with death.
The accounts show the human consequences of separating deportation from nationality. A destination government may receive someone who has never lived there and may have no family or legal support there.
The broader reporting also identified Nika among the people sent to third countries. His case formed part of the total exceeding 25,000 transfers.
The program expanded even as a federal appeals court rejected it
One count put the number of people deported to third countries at 25,447 by August 31, 2026. The African transfers represented at least 450 of those cases.
U.S. officials had approached 49 African countries, secured agreements with 13, and entered negotiations with nine others in March 2026. The outreach extended beyond the governments that had already accepted people.
A U.S. federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the third-country removals policy was unlawful. The administration’s use of the arrangements nevertheless remained active on September 21, 2026.
The seven-month investigation described the deals as a growing part of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. Their expansion has depended not only on removal authority, but also on money and diplomatic incentives.
Human rights lawyers described the policy as a “show of force” intended to deter migrants and asylum seekers from entering the United States.
The arrangements continue to link migration enforcement with negotiations over aid, trade and tariffs. Eswatini’s agreement alone combines authorization for up to 150 deportees with a direct payment of $5.1 million.
