U.S. pays foreign nations to detain deportees
- Washington paid 35 foreign governments millions to imprison deportees who have no local ties.
- An estimated 25,000 immigrants faced third-country deportations, bypassing federal court oversight.
- Federal judges halted the program for due process violations, sending the battle to the Supreme Court.
The plane landed in Eswatini, an absolute monarchy thousands of miles from Cuba. Roberto Mosquera had never heard of the country.
On The Daily, Rachel Abrams exposed how U.S. immigration authorities bypassed federal judicial review by paying foreign nations to accept third-country deportees. When non-cooperative foreign governments refuse to repatriate citizens after U.S. prison terms, federal law standardly requires releasing them under domestic supervision. Instead, Washington arranged deals with roughly 35 foreign governments, transferring millions of dollars to outsource custody.
Reporter Nicholas Casey detailed the cash transfers supporting the program. Official records show Eswatini received $5.1 million to house detainees, while El Salvador accepted $6 million. The organization Third Country Deportation Watch estimates that 25,000 individuals have been subjected to third-country deportations, with Casey reporting that 5,000 ended up in maximum-security prisons, hotels, or active conflict zones overseas.
Out of sight, deportees were stripped of constitutional rights and domestic legal access.
Mosquera’s case illustrates the severe human cost of these bilateral deals. Arriving from Cuba during the 1980 Mariel boatlift at age 12, he lived in the U.S. for decades with a work permit following a 1990s prison sentence. In June 2019, ICE officers detained Mosquera during a routine check-in and deported him to Eswatini without warning. Held indefinitely in a maximum-security prison without local charges or counsel, Mosquera endured a 30-day hunger strike just to secure a telephone.
Conditions abroad exposed detainees to extreme abuse far beyond U.S. oversight. In Eswatini, political parties are banned and free speech is restricted, leaving deportees with no legal recourse. Casey also highlighted an operation where 250 Venezuelan men were sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador despite many lacking criminal records, as well as reports of deportees beaten by local guards at a hotel in Equatorial Guinea.
The practice triggered a constitutional crisis over due process. A federal court ruled third-country deportations illegal because immigration law prohibits sending individuals to places where they face arbitrary imprisonment or torture. As reported on The Daily on September 28, 2026, the administration appealed to the Supreme Court for an emergency stay, seeking to maintain executive immigration authority while litigation continues.
For those sitting in foreign jail cells, court injunctions arrive far too late.
Source Intelligence
- Deep dive into what was said in the episodes
He Was Deported to a Country He’d Never Heard Of • Sep 28
- Rachel Abrams reports that a federal court ruled third-country deportations illegal because they violate due process rights. The Trump administration appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, seeking an emergency stay to allow the practice to continue.
- Nicholas Casey explains that third-country deportations involve sending undocumented immigrants to nations where they have no personal or family ties. The policy has increasingly targeted individuals whose home countries refuse to accept deportees.
- An organization called Third Country Deportation Watch estimates that 25,000 people have been subjected to third-country deportations. Nicholas Casey reports a subset of 5,000 individuals were sent to overseas prisons, hotels, or active conflict zones.
- Nicholas Casey reports the Trump administration bypassed repatriation limits by paying foreign governments to accept deportees. The U.S. paid Eswatini $5.1 million and El Salvador $6 million to accept individuals deported from America.
- Roberto Mosquera arrived in the U.S. from Cuba during the 1980 Mariel boatlift at age 12. Because Cuba refused repatriations, U.S. authorities released him with a work permit following a nine-year prison sentence.
- ICE detained Roberto Mosquera during a routine check-in in June 2019 and deported him to Eswatini without prior warning. Mosquera had no connection to the landlocked African nation and had never heard of it.
- Eswatini is an absolute monarchy where political parties are banned and freedom of speech is restricted. Roberto Mosquera was held indefinitely in a maximum-security prison without charges or access to a local lawyer.
- To protest his indefinite detention, Roberto Mosquera went on a 30-day hunger strike. He ended the protest on his attorney's advice and was later allowed to purchase a phone to contact the outside world.
- Nicholas Casey highlights a prior operation where the U.S. deported 250 Venezuelan men to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Despite administration claims that the men were gang members, many had no criminal background.
- Nicholas Casey points to reports of detainees sent to Equatorial Guinea being beaten by local guards in a hotel. This highlights the dangers of deporting individuals to nations notorious for human rights violations.
Also discussed on this episode: (2)
Diplomacy (1)
- Nicholas Casey compares the situation in Eswatini to Guantanamo Bay. Both systems placed individuals outside of U.S. jurisdiction, leaving them in a legal limbo where they risk being forgotten indefinitely.
War (1)
- British police arrested five men near RAF Fairford, a base used by the U.S. Air Force to deploy large bombers. Authorities are investigating potential links to Russia or Iran following reports of suspicious vehicles.