US Expands Third-Country Deportations Despite Rights Criticism
The United States has expanded deportations of migrants to countries other than their own, despite objections from rights groups and United Nations experts, according to reporting published Oct. 15, 2026.
The practice, known as third-country deportation, means sending a person to a country that is neither the United States nor the person's country of nationality. Rights groups say it was extremely rare before the current administration and had never been used by the U.S. at the current scale. Al Jazeera
Department of Homeland Security data recorded more than 16,000 cases of third-country deportations between January 2025 and August 2026. That data, provided to the Deportation Data Project based at UC Berkeley and UCLA and analysed by Al Jazeera, ran through August 2026, the latest month available. Separately, Refugees International and Human Rights First tallied more than 25,000 people subject to forcible third-country deportations, based on media reports and information from attorneys.
The increase is part of a broader enforcement drive. Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to implement the "largest deportation operation in American history," and immigration authorities stepped up detentions and deportations after he became president in January 2025. DHS officers now make thousands of immigration arrests per day across the U.S.
The department has also reported large overall totals. On Jan. 20, 2026, it said it had removed more than 675,000 people and that over 3 million people it described as illegal aliens were out of the country. DHS Those totals include people who left voluntarily. DHS says people who register for voluntary self-departure through the CBP Home Mobile App, a government application for reporting departure, receive cost-free travel and a $3,000 exit bonus.
The legality of third-country deportations is contested. Some U.S. courts have said the practice is illegal, but the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the administration to continue it in a September ruling. The administration has carried out such deportations to South Sudan, among other destinations. Reuters
A U.S. Senate report titled "At What Cost — Inside the Trump Administration's Secret Deportation Deals" states the administration dramatically expanded the use of third-country deportations over the past year. Reuters reported on Oct. 5, 2026, that the administration had deported tens of thousands of people to third countries.
UN experts said the deportations were leading to a "cascade of human rights violations" across the globe. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN have criticised the practice. Human Rights Watch published a report on Oct. 8, 2026, titled "To Scare People: US Expulsions of Third-Country Nationals to Countries in Africa," while Human Rights First and Refugees International released an update to their "Banished by Bargain: Third Country Deportation Watch" tracker detailing what they described as the expanding scope and toll of third-country agreements.
