Eswatini Receives 10 US‑Deported Migrants

The United States flew 10 third‑country nationals to Eswatini, where the kingdom’s correctional service said the men have been “securely accommodated” in a correctional facility as part of a Trump‑era program to deport migrants to countries other than their origins. Reported nationalities on the flight included three Vietnamese, a Filipino, a Cambodian and men from Chad and Cuba, and a lawyer said the plane routed from Alexandria, Louisiana, via Puerto Rico, Senegal and Angola. The transfer follows a July movement of five deportees who were held at Eswatini’s maximum‑security Matsapha prison, one of whom — a Jamaican — was later repatriated. Human Rights Watch and other advocates say largely secret third‑country deportation deals — Eswatini reportedly agreed to accept up to 160 deportees in return for about $5.1 million — violate international rights law, and lawyers and civil‑society groups have challenged the detentions in court. U.S. authorities have described some deportees as convicted criminals, but rights groups and lawyers continue to contest the removals and detention conditions while Eswatini says it will facilitate “orderly repatriation” and work with the International Organization for Migration.