The United States has signed third-country deportation agreements with at least 35 governments since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, creating arrangements to send migrants to countries other than their own. Some signatories have not received deportees.
A consortium’s tally, compiled by Forbidden Stories, found that at least 25,447 people had been deported to third countries by August 31, 2026. About 20,000 went to Mexico; the others were sent to 27 countries across Latin America, Africa and the Pacific. Agreements were finalized with seven additional countries.
Jamaica received its first group on October 13. Twenty-two deportees arrived at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, then were taken by bus to an undisclosed location.
The Third Country Deportation Watch is an advocacy project affiliated with Refugees International and Human Rights First. The Migration Policy Institute says arrangements involve at least 35 governments, some of which have yet to receive people.
A presidential directive created a patchwork of deals and payments
A presidential action in January 2025 directed the secretary of state to work with the attorney general and homeland security secretary on international agreements, including safe-third-country arrangements. The congressional record describes that directive.
The State Department created its Office of Remigration in May 2025 to handle most negotiations and payments. The office is led by Christian Jove Ehrhardt, a 41-year-old diplomat who previously worked as a security officer.
The arrangements vary. Some are formal agreements or memorandums of understanding; others take the form of diplomatic notes or informal transit arrangements. Receiving governments may set numerical caps, restrict transfers by nationality or other criteria, or reject individuals, including based on criminal records. Six agreements, including those with Mexico, Moldova and Uzbekistan, have not been made public.
The administration earmarked $410 million for receiving countries and organizations facilitating transfers. Internal State Department records assigned $81 million to signatory governments, more than $178 million to the International Organization for Migration and $123 million to UNHCR. At least 13 countries received a combined $81 million in direct payments.
Country arrangements differ in scale. Palau agreed in December 2025 to accept up to 75 people for $7.5 million, but three have been sent there. Eswatini has received 32 people since July 2025 under a deal covering up to 160 and worth more than $5 million; it has accepted deportees with criminal records.
Cameroon signed a deportation memorandum in December. A week later, it signed a five-year health assistance program worth nearly $400 million. The following month, the State Department said it would provide another $30 million to UNHCR in Cameroon to facilitate voluntary refugee returns and combat illegal immigration. The first deportation flight arrived January 14.
Jamaica says arrivals will be moved onward, not kept there
Jamaica signed a bilateral memorandum in June. Under the arrangement, the government says it will send deportees to their home countries or other destinations and will not accept people with criminal records. The International Organization for Migration will support their care.
The Jamaican ministries of national security and foreign affairs described the arrangement as a transit measure. They said it would not be funded by the Government of Jamaica.
Opposition national security spokesperson Fitz Jackson challenged the lack of public debate. “Jamaicans are being asked to trust a secret document that touches their security, their communities and their public services,” he said.
Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith said questions about the agreement “have all been answered.” She said the US partner had not agreed to make the document public. The ministry had also said the arrangement would facilitate returns to countries of origin or other receiving countries.
Courts and rights monitors are testing what happens after transfer
On September 18, 2026, the First Circuit upheld a lower-court ruling that detained people must have an opportunity to challenge removal to a third country. District Judge Brian E. Murphy said a person needs advance notice of the destination and a meaningful chance to contest it.
“An individual's right to contest removal to a country based on a fear of persecution in that country means little if one does not receive prior notice of the intended removal destination and a meaningful opportunity to contest that destination,” Murphy said.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case on the policy, with arguments expected in December. In a separate dispute, the Department of Homeland Security scheduled a flight for migrants in a class-action case to Burundi, Rwanda and the Central African Republic. After their lawyers filed an emergency motion, an ICE jet flew to two African countries with removal agreements. The passenger list and whether any removals violated a court order remain unresolved.
Sarah Mehta, deputy director of policy and government affairs for the Equality Division at the ACLU, said secrecy around flights makes it difficult for detained people to find lawyers and challenge transfers. She said they could face persecution or torture in destination countries.
More than 20 independent UN experts warned on September 28, 2026, that the arrangements were increasing risks of torture, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance. They said the United States had sent at least 23,000 third-country nationals to 29 countries and territories. The experts called for the arrangements to stop and warned that transfers could put people at risk where asylum systems and basic services are inadequate.
A Human Rights First report published October 9, based on more than 50 interviews and analysis of government data and habeas petitions, found that at least 310 people with withholding of removal or Convention Against Torture protection had been sent to 15 third countries. At least 114 people sent to 10 countries had later been returned to places where a US judge had found they were more likely than not to face persecution or torture.
The report’s cases included Elvis Rodriguez Venturas, a Honduran national sent to Liberia in August 2026, a country he had never heard of. A US immigration court had found he faced a risk of torture if returned to Honduras. He left behind four children, including two U.S. citizens.
Robyn Barnard, Human Rights First’s vice president for refugee and immigrant rights, called on Congress to investigate the agreements, diplomatic assurances and spending. The Supreme Court is due to hear arguments on the policy in December.
