The southern African kingdom of Eswatini received 11 third-country nationals deported from the United States on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
This marks the fourth group accepted under a bilateral hosting agreement.
An official government convoy traveled to the main international airport to process the new arrivals, who are predominantly from African countries.
The deportees are expected to be housed at the Matsapha Maximum Security Prison while remaining temporarily in the country.
The transfers are part of a broader immigration crackdown by the administration of U. S.
President Donald Trump. The U.
S. has sent thousands of people to nearly two dozen third-party nations.
Eswatini reportedly agreed to accept a total of 160 deportees in exchange for $5.1 million from the U.
S. to strengthen its border and migration management capacity.
Controversial Case Among New Arrivals
Among the newly arrived individuals is 64-year-old Jamaican pastor Junior Alves. He has no criminal convictions and had been granted stay in the U.
S. under the Convention Against Torture since 2016.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Alves at his home on January 11 before deporting him this week.
The administration has expanded its deportation targets during its second term to include individuals with existing legal protections.
It argues it is only legally barred from repatriating them directly to their home countries.
While countries like Ghana quickly return deportees to their nations of origin, Eswatini has held most individuals indefinitely without charge, prompting legal challenges from local civic groups.
Acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli addressed the situation in an official statement.
"The government reaffirms that, during their temporary stay in the Kingdom, the fundamental rights of the third-country nationals will be respected and protected in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Eswatini and the Kingdom’s international obligations," said Mdluli.
Mdluli further stated that security measures were active to protect both the residents of Eswatini and the deportees.
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have heavily criticized the arrangement for its lack of transparency and parliamentary oversight.
Human rights lawyer Mzwandile Masuku expressed concern over the lack of public accountability.
"The continued transfers reflected weak institutional accountability and warned the practice risked becoming normalized internationally," said Masuku.
A total of 19 deportees had been sent to Eswatini between July 2025 and the latest arrivals.
Only two individuals from the previous cohorts have successfully left the prison facility to be repatriated to Cambodia and Jamaica, leaving 17 others detained alongside the new arrivals.
