US Deports Four More Migrants to Eswatini Under Controversial Scheme. Mbabane, Eswatini — Four additional men deported from the United States arrived in Eswatini on Wednesday, according to a lawyer and prison official.
The men, two Somalis, a Tanzanian, and a Sudanese, were among a group of 15 who were sent to the southern African kingdom last year under U.
S. Agreements with several African nations to accept undocumented migrants.
The deportees landed at Matsapha Maximum — Security Correctional Centre outside the capital, where they are currently in good health and undergoing orientation, a prison officer confirmed.
The scheme, which has faced criticism from lawyers and civil society groups, involves Eswatini agreeing to accept 160 deportees in exchange for approximately $5. 1 million to build border management capacity.
According to a Human Rights Watch document, the deportees are held only while arrangements for repatriation are made.
However, critics argue that the detentions are indefinite and without charges. Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan have also accepted U. S.
Deportees under similar arrangements. Lawyers and civil society groups have challenged the detentions in court, contending that the deportees are being held “indefinitely “without charges.
The government has not yet commented on the legal challenges.
The expansion of the U. S. Third-country deportation program has raised concerns about the treatment of migrants and the ethical implications of such agreements.
Further details are expected as the situation develops.
