Overview
- Eswatini said the latest arrivals include two Somali nationals, one Sudanese national and one Tanzanian national, and stated they will be repatriated with talks under way with countries of origin.
- Amnesty International reported the four men arrived on March 11 on a flight from Phoenix, Arizona, and are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex, calling for disclosure of the legal basis for their detention and access to counsel.
- The transfers occur under a May 14, 2025 memorandum published after a U.S. FOIA release that provided Eswatini $5.1 million to accept up to 160 third-country nationals.
- Eswatini’s high court last month dismissed a local legal challenge to the arrangement, lawyers have appealed, and media reports cited by Amnesty say at least three deportees have petitioned the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
- The Eswatini cases form part of a wider U.S. practice that has moved roughly 300 migrants to third countries at a cost of at least $40 million, including more than 40 to Africa under agreements with at least seven nations, according to Associated Press and Senate Democratic staff.