The Trump administration has deported five immigrants described as “depraved monsters” to the tiny African kingdom of Eswatini, after the Supreme Court lifted restrictions on banishing people to third countries.
The five men — from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos — were “so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back”, Washington said.
The US has already deported eight men to South Sudan and has been looking for other countries to take deportees, after the Supreme Court said it could send people to countries where they have no ties.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for homeland security, said: “These depraved monsters have been terrorising American communities but thanks to president Trump and Kristi Noem [the homeland security secretary] they are off of American soil.”
She said the five included a Vietnamese national accused of child rape, and men from Jamaica, Laos and Cuba convicted of murder.
Mr Trump has said he is looking to make more deals with African nations to take deportees as part of his plan to aggressively ramp up mass deportations.
The matter was discussed last week with the leaders of five West African nations who visited him at the White House.
The US also has sent hundreds of Venezuelans and others to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama.
Eswatini is the last absolute monarchy in Africa and has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986. The country of 1.2 million was known as Swaziland until 2018.
The kingdom did not immediately comment on the deportations and it was not immediately clear where the men would be living, or what would happen to them.
Ingiphile Dlamini, a spokesperson for the pro-democracy group Swalimo, told the Associated Press: “There has been a notable lack of official communication from the Eswatini government regarding any agreement or understanding with the US to accept these deportees.
“This opacity makes it difficult for civic society to understand the implications.”
He said the tiny landlocked country could “face significant strain in accommodating and managing individuals with complex backgrounds, particularly those with serious criminal convictions”.
He said his organisation wanted to know the plans for the five men and “any potential risks to the local population”.
However, analysts say some African nations may be willing to help America take third-country deportees as part of negotiations for relief from tariffs, visa restrictions and foreign aid cuts.
Eswatini has one of the highest rates of HIV in the world and, until this year’s American aid cuts, had been heavily reliant on Washington to fund a public health campaign against the epidemic.
Dozens of people were allegedly killed by security forces when pro-democracy protests erupted in 2021.
Earlier this month, a top Trump administration official said in a memo that immigration officers may deport migrants to third countries with as little as six hours’ notice.
The memo stated that migrants could be sent to nations that have pledged not to persecute or torture them “without the need for further procedures”.
In recent weeks, US immigration authorities have ramped up efforts to track down illegal migrants and stop those arriving in the country from gaining citizenship.
Landlords in Atlanta have allegedly received summons from Immigration and Customs Enforcement demanding they turn over copies of the leases, rental applications, forwarding addresses and identification cards of their tenants, in a bid to increase mass deportations.
The agency has also issued new guidance to make millions of immigrants who entered the US without legal authorisation ineligible for bond hearings, according to The Washington Post.
The move, which authorities said “closes a loophole” in immigration law, would mean migrants remain in detention as they fight deportation proceedings in court, which can sometimes take years.