Washington approached 49 African countries to expand its deportations

The investigation, coordinated by Forbidden Stories in collaboration with 26 media partners, reveals that at least 25,447 individuals were sent to 28 third countries between January 2025 and August 31, 2026. Approximately 20,000 were transferred to Mexico. The others were primarily directed to countries in Africa and Latin America, sometimes without any prior connection to their host country.

The initiative is led by the Office of Remigration, a body established in May 2025 within the State Department. According to documents reviewed by the Washington Post and Forbidden Stories, the U.S. administration had authorized or promised at least $410 million to facilitate agreements with 31 countries, mainly in Africa and Latin America. Of this total, $81 million was earmarked directly for governments, while additional funds were allocated for the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In Africa, the documents specifically mention Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Eswatini among the countries that have agreed to accept nationals from third countries. In Ghana, 71 individuals had already been transferred according to internal data as of June. In the DRC, the planned cap was set at 2,000 individuals, of which 15 had already been received by that date.

The policy is being challenged in U.S. courts. On September 18, a federal appeals court upheld the requirement to provide individuals with sufficient time to contest their transfer to a third country when they cite a risk of persecution or mistreatment. Lawyers and human rights organizations have criticized transfers to countries where some deportees find themselves without clear status, lacking family networks, and with limited access to legal assistance.

The White House asserts that the transfers involve individuals subject to deportation orders whose countries of origin refuse to accept them back, or who cannot be returned there. The UNHCR and IOM, for their part, state that they are not parties to the bilateral agreements and ensure that the U.S. funding they receive continues to be used within the framework of their humanitarian mandates.