Federal judges halt US third country deportations
- The Trump administration paid 35 foreign governments millions to imprison U.S. deportees.
- Reporter Nicholas Casey estimates 5,000 deportees ended up in foreign prisons or active war zones.
- Federal judges halted third-country deportations while the administration appeals to the Supreme Court.
The loop is simple and effective.
On September 28, 2026, New York Times reporter Nicholas Casey explained on The Daily how the Trump administration bypassed non-cooperative foreign governments. When countries refuse to repatriate citizens who completed prison sentences in the United States, federal law typically requires releasing them under supervision. To avoid release, Washington paid foreign states millions of dollars to accept deportees with no local ties.
Official records show Eswatini received $5.1 million to house detainees. El Salvador accepted $6 million under similar terms. Overall, the administration reached deals with roughly 35 countries. Casey estimates that about 5,000 deportees ended up in maximum-security foreign prisons, hotels, or active conflict zones.
In Eswatini, an absolute monarchy, foreign detainees were stripped, numbered, and held indefinitely without local charges.
Casey explicitly compared the arrangement to Guantanamo Bay. Relocating individuals outside U.S. territorial jurisdiction strips them of constitutional protections. Deportees who face torture or arbitrary imprisonment abroad lose access to federal courts the moment their flights depart. Legal injunctions offer no protection after a plane lands overseas.
Federal judges halted third-country deportations because the policy violates constitutional due process. The administration filed an emergency appeal to ask the Supreme Court to lift the stay. Casey noted that the high court previously granted similar stays without written opinions. That pattern reflects broad judicial deference to executive immigration powers.
Individual cases highlight the human impact of the legal vacuum. Cuban native Roberto Mosquera lived in the United States for decades after serving a 1990s prison sentence. Immigration agents arrested him during a routine check-in. Mosquera spent 13 months in an Eswatini cell without access to a local attorney. He launched a 30-day hunger strike just to purchase phone access.
Once the border is crossed, constitutional rights evaporate.