The US deported more than 25,000 migrants to third countries under secret agreements - investigation
Kyiv • UNN
An investigation by Forbidden Stories uncovered secret US agreements with 35 countries on the deportation of more than 25,000 migrants. $410 million was allocated for the program.
The United States deported more than 25,000 people under secret agreements with 35 countries that agreed to accept migrants who have no ties whatsoever to those states, according to an investigation by Forbidden Stories. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports this, writes UNN.
Details
As the publication notes, after U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, Washington began concluding agreements with developing countries to accept migrants who cannot legally be sent back to their countries of origin.
The Forbidden Stories investigation found that the U.S. administration had allocated $410 million to be paid directly to countries accepting deportees or to UN agencies to facilitate their relocation.
According to data collected by Forbidden Stories together with a consortium of international journalists, as of August 31, 2026, at least 25,447 people had already been deported to third countries.
The vast majority—about 20,000 people—were sent to Mexico. The rest were distributed among 27 other countries in Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific region, while agreements had already been finalized with seven more countries.
The terms of these agreements vary, including regarding citizens of which countries may be deported and whether people with criminal convictions may be accepted.
An AFP investigation conducted earlier this year found that Washington was using visa bans and restrictions against African countries to pressure them into agreeing to accept deportees.
Lawyers told the publication that deportees end up in a "legal black hole": they are held without being charged in countries with which they have no ties whatsoever and where they have very few or no rights at all.
Forbidden Stories reported that as many as 49 of the 54 African countries had been approached with an offer to accept deportees from third countries.
According to Forbidden Stories, most of the negotiations and payments were handled by a little-known unit of the U.S. Department of State—the Office of Remigration, established in May 2025.