The United States has deported five foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes to the southern African kingdom of Eswatini, in what officials are describing as part of an intensified crackdown on illegal immigration under President Donald Trump’s administration.
According to US Homeland Security Department Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, the deportees originally from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, and Yemen had been convicted of crimes including child rape and murder.
“This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,” McLaughlin wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “A safe third-country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed. They are off American soil.”
The flight to Eswatini comes amid a controversial and far-reaching immigration policy by the Trump administration that has included workplace raids, visa suspensions, and a shift toward deporting individuals to third-party countries.
Eswatini, a small landlocked country bordered by South Africa and Mozambique, has not issued any official statement regarding the deportation or its role in receiving the convicted individuals. However, the country—formerly known as Swaziland—was previously named in media reports as a potential third-country destination for deportees the US could not return to their home nations.
Led by King Mswati III since 1986, Eswatini is Africa’s last absolute monarchy and has maintained a relatively low profile in global affairs.
The deportation to Eswatini follows a similar case earlier this month, when the US successfully deported eight migrants from various countries to South Sudan after prolonged delays. Despite initial agreement by South Sudan to accept the deportees, the US State Department responded by revoking visas for all South Sudanese passport holders—a move that further complicated diplomatic relations.
Last week, Nigeria pushed back against US pressure to accept deportees, including Venezuelans and third-country prisoners. A Nigerian minister said the country had “enough problems” of its own and would not serve as a dumping ground for US deportation efforts.
President Trump has made aggressive immigration enforcement a hallmark of his administration, pledging mass deportations and drawing strong support from his political base. However, the administration’s scope has gone beyond undocumented migrants, targeting people on student visas, revoking temporary work permits, and restricting refugee admissions—except for white South Africans.
The Trump administration has broadened its deportation framework by engaging countries willing to serve as third-party recipients. According to reports, Rwanda has confirmed it is in talks with the US, while Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Moldova have been named as potential destinations for future deportation flights.
In addition to Eswatini and South Sudan, the US has already deported individuals to El Salvador and Costa Rica under this evolving policy. Critics argue that the strategy undermines international law and human rights, while the administration defends it as necessary to protect American communities.
McLaughlin, in her post, described the five deportees as “depraved monsters who had been terrorizing American communities.” She emphasized that with the latest deportation, “they are no longer our problem.”
