US deports criminals to Eswatini after home countries reject them

A deportation flight carrying immigrants from various countries that declined to take back their citizens has landed in the Southern African country of Eswatini, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday.

“A safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed — This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X.

“These depraved monsters have been terrorizing American communities,” she continued, adding that they are now “off of American soil.”

This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court last month gave the green light for the Trump administration to resume its deportations of migrants to countries other than their own without offering them the opportunity to show the harms they could face in their home countries, allowing the federal government to further carry out the president’s mass deportation agenda.

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McLaughlin listed five deportees from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen who she said were convicted of egregious crimes, including child rape and murder.

A Vietnamese national was convicted of child rape, a Jamaican citizen was convicted of murder, robbery and weapons possession and a Laos citizen was convicted of murder, murder and burglary as well as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of methamphetamine and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance, according to McLaughlin.

She said a Cuban citizen was convicted of murder and aggravated battery — including on a police officer — as well as Grand Theft Auto, eluding law enforcement and reckless driving, while a Yemeni citizen was convicted of homicide, assault and battery as well as resisting and obstructing an officer, cruelty to a dependent adult and assault with the intent to do great bodily harm.

Earlier this month, an administration official said in a memo that migrants may be deported to countries other than their own with as little as six hours notice.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will generally wait at least 24 hours to deport a migrant after informing them of their removal to a “third country,” according to a July 9 memo from the agency’s acting director, Todd Lyons, adding that the agency could still remove them to these countries with as little as six hours notice “in exigent circumstances” as long as the individual was provided the chance to speak with an attorney.

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The memo said migrants could be sent to countries that have vowed not to persecute or torture them “without the need for further procedures.”

The new ICE policy suggests the administration may move quickly to send migrants to countries around the world.

Human rights advocates have raised concerns over due process and other issues surrounding the president’s immigration policies.

Reuters contributed to this report.