Eswatini Accepts 10 US Deportees Despite Legal Challenge
The United States has deported 10 people to Eswatini, despite ongoing legal efforts by rights groups in the southern African nation to block the move. This marks the second batch of deportees sent to Eswatini under the Trump administration’s strict immigration policy.
Eswatini’s prison department confirmed that the 10 deportees had been “securely accommodated” and posed no threat to the public. However, local human rights lawyer Mzwandile Masuku expressed shock and disappointment that the government accepted the group while a court case over a previous batch of five deportees, received in July, remains unresolved.
The earlier group included individuals from Jamaica, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen, whom US officials had described as “depraved monsters.” The Jamaican national has since been repatriated to his home country, while two others are expected to follow soon, according to Eswatini’s government.
In a statement issued Sunday, Eswatini announced it had agreed to accept 11 deportees under an arrangement with the US “to cooperate in this manner,” although only 10 arrived. Their identities have not been publicly disclosed.
The BBC reported that the Trump administration had previously considered deporting Kilmar Ábrego García, a Salvadoran national accused of being linked to the MS-13 gang — a claim he denies. García, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year before being returned to the US, is currently facing human smuggling charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
A US federal judge recently suggested that García’s prosecution could be “vindictive,” pending further review. The BBC has requested clarification from Eswatini’s acting government spokesperson, Thabile Mdluli, on whether García was part of the latest deportation group.
Mdluli earlier stated that all deportees would be kept in a “secured area separate from the public” while arrangements were made for their eventual repatriation. Their arrival coincides with the resumption of a court case in Mbabane challenging the deportation deal.
Masuku, representing civil society organisations opposed to the agreement, criticised the government for disregarding the ongoing legal process, saying it should have “respected the court process and awaited its ruling” before accepting additional deportees.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), which reviewed the deal between the US and Eswatini, the agreement allows the southern African country to accept up to 160 deportees in exchange for $5.1 million (£3.79 million) to support its “border and migration management capacity.”
— BBC / Ghanaian Times
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