People deported from the United States to African countries they have never lived in are facing an uncertain future, raising questions about what happens after Washington transfers migrants to a third country with which they have no apparent connection.
The Central African Republic has become one destination under the Trump administration’s expanding use of third-country deportations. A flight that arrived in Bangui on August 29 carried 12 Afghans, eight Iranians and people from Nepal and Nicaragua. It was the second such deportation to the Central African Republic since June, according to The Associated Press.
The cases vary, but some involve people who say they cannot safely return to their countries of origin. AP reported that one Afghan deportee had previously received protection from deportation to Afghanistan from a U.S. judge after demonstrating credible threats to his family. His brothers had supported the U.S. military, and one had been killed by the Taliban. He was nevertheless sent to Bangui.
Once in Africa, the central question changes from whether a person can remain in the United States to what legal and practical protections are available in the country receiving them. Deportees may have no family, employment history, community ties or established support networks in their new destination. The arrangements between Washington and African governments have also attracted criticism over transparency and the safeguards available to people transferred under the agreements.
The issue is not limited to the Central African Republic. In Equatorial Guinea, 31 people deported from the United States are being held at a hotel in Malabo. Reuters reported on September 8 that an altercation over confiscated cell phones escalated, with witnesses saying local police pointed guns at some of the deportees. Lawyers and human rights advocates have raised concerns about the migrants’ treatment, access to legal assistance and psychological well-being.
For African governments, accepting third-country deportees also creates responsibilities that go beyond receiving a plane. Authorities must determine where people can stay, what status they hold, whether they can work or move freely, and what happens if they cannot safely return to their countries of origin.
The broader question is whether a deportation is genuinely a durable solution when the person is transferred to a country where they have no meaningful ties. As the United States expands arrangements with African governments, the experience of those already sent to the continent is likely to shape the debate over whether third-country deportations provide a viable migration policy or simply move unresolved legal and humanitarian problems from one jurisdiction to another.
