Eswatini says it received more 'third country' deportees as part of deal with Trump administration
Source: The Guardian
Thu 12 Mar 2026 17.20 EDT
First published on Thu 12 Mar 2026 15.47 EDT
The government of Eswatini announced on Thursday it received four more “third country” deportees from the United States, as part of the Trump administration’s multimillion-dollar deal with the small African nation. Now, a total of 19 deportees from the US have been sent to Eswatini when they hail from other countries, amid the Trump administration’s continued anti-immigrant crackdown and changes to immigration policy.
A system for monitoring people moved around by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the form of a flight tracker, run by the advocacy group Human Rights First, tracked the deportation flight to Eswatini. The flight apparently took off from Phoenix, Arizona, and landed in Eswatini in southern Africa at around 11pm ET on Wednesday night, according to the ICE flight monitor.
In a statement to the Guardian, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not provide details requested about the people deported to Eswatini. “The Trump Administration is utilizing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised,” said the statement, attributed to a senior DHS official.
Two of the deportees sent to Eswatini on Wednesday night were from Somalia, one was from Sudan and one was from Tanzania, the government said. No identities or other details about them was disclosed by the authorities.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/12/trump-immigration-deportations-eswatini