The US has deported five migrants convicted of serious crimes—including sexual assault and murder—to Eswatini, a small kingdom in southern Africa. An X post from Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary with the Department of Homeland Security, calls the men "depraved monsters" and "individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back." The BBC reports these individuals came from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, and Yemen, and were sent to Eswatini after their home countries reportedly refused to take them back. "They are off of American soil" thanks to President Trump and Kristi Noem, McLaughlin wrote.
This move is part of a broader Trump administration effort to enforce stricter immigration controls, including sending migrants to "safe third countries" that may have no prior connection to the deportees—a move the Supreme Court enabled in late June, reports the Guardian. Earlier in the month, eight men from various nations were sent to South Sudan, which agreed to receive them even though only one was a South Sudanese national.
Eswatini, ruled by King Mswati III and the last absolute monarchy on the continent, has not issued a statement about the arrivals. The country, formerly called Swaziland, had been mentioned in media reports as a possible destination for US deportees. As for whether the men are now in custody there, Mclaughlin told NBC News, "That's up to Eswatini." Other nations—including Rwanda, Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Moldova—have also been floated as potential partners under this policy.
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