Tag Archives: Eswatini

Daily Beast: ‘Homie’: DHS Ridicules Dad They Plan to Deport to Tiny African Nation

Posted on by
Reply

Kilmar Abrego Garcia has received a letter about where the DHS plans to send him next.

Maryland dad Kilmar Abrego Garcia has learned where the Department of Homeland Security has decided to deport him next.

In an email obtained by Fox News, lawyers for the DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed Abrego Garcia’s legal team on Friday that his new intended destination is the tiny African nation of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland.

Ridiculing Abrego Garcia’s legal claim of fear of persecution or torture—a core asylum principle—in many of the nations the government has considered deporting him to, the DHS wrote on social media that “Homie is afraid of the entire western hemisphere”.

The derisory use of the term “homie” sparked outrage on social media.

Abrego Garcia, who is currently in ICE custody in Virginia, became the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in March after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

The government admitted to an “administrative error” following his return from the Central American nation, but is still intent on removing him from the U.S. over charges of human smuggling.

His lawyers claim such charges are a “preposterous and vindictive” punishment for challenging ICE policy.

Eswatini is the fourth potential destination for Abrego Garcia, who was taken into ICE custody for a second time on Aug. 25, and prepared for processing to Uganda.

A federal judge blocked the plan, accepting his lawyers’ concerns over fear of persecution or torture, ruling that it is “absolutely forbidden” to remove Abrego Garcia from the U.S. until further legal processing can be carried out. However, the DHS has stated it is not buying his legal defense.

“That claim of fear is hard to take seriously, especially given that you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or torture in at least 22 different countries,” the legal letter reads.

“Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa.”

The letter does not elaborate on how the DHS chose the country for Abrego Garcia’s intended removal.

The Daily Beast has contacted the DHS for comment.

DHS boss Kristi Noem has made it a personal mission to see Abrego Garcia deported. She has previously claimed her department is going after “the worst of the worst” and, in August, claimed the man is a “monster.”

“This illegal alien… is a MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator,” Noem wrote on social media.

Abrego Garcia’s legal team has repeatedly denied all these allegations, including the often-trotted out line about his membership of the notorious MS-13 gang. Multiple judges have said there is no evidence to suggest he is gang-affiliated, while noting he has no prior criminal history.

In April, President Donald Trump insisted that Abrego Garcia had the gang name tattooed on his knuckles, challenging a reporter in an interview that an image of Abrego Garcia’s hand with “MS-13″ clearly superimposed over it was real.

At roughly 120 miles long and 80 miles wide, Eswatini is one of the smallest nations in Africa. It is the last absolute monarchy on the continent, and has a population of 1.2 million people. The country, which is bordered by South Africa and Mozambique, changed its name from Swaziland in 2018 to avoid confusion with Switzerland.

Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, says the Trump administration is “weaponizing the immigration system in a manner that is completely unconstitutional.”

‘Homie’: DHS Ridicules Dad They Plan to Deport to Africa
Kilmar Abrego Garcia has received a letter about where the DHS plans to send him next.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/dhs-ridicules-kilmar-abrego-garciawho-they-now-plan-to-deport-to-eswatini

Associated Press: South Sudan repatriates Mexican man deported from US in July

Posted on by
Reply

South Sudan said Saturday it repatriated to Mexico a man deported from the United States in July.

The man, a Mexican identified as Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, was among a group of eight who have been in government custody in the east African country since their deportation from the U.S.

Another deportee, a South Sudanese national, has since been freed while six others remain in custody.

Munoz-Gutierrez’s repatriation to Mexico was carried out by South Sudan’s foreign ministry in concert with the Mexican Embassy in neighboring Ethiopia, the South Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement.

The repatriation was carried out “in full accordance with relevant international law, bilateral agreements, and established diplomatic protocols,” it said.

In comments to journalists in Juba, the South Sudan capital, Munoz-Gutierrez said he “felt kidnapped” when the U.S. sent him to South Sudan.

“I was not planning to come to South Sudan, but while I was here they treated me well,” he said. “I finished my time in the United States, and they were supposed to return me to Mexico. Instead, they wrongfully sent me to South Sudan.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said that Munoz-Gutierrez had a conviction for second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

South Sudan is engaging other countries about repatriating the six deportees still in custody, said Apuk Ayuel Mayen, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry.

It is not clear if the deportees have access to legal representation.

Rights groups have argued that the Trump administration’s increasing practice of deporting migrants to third countries violates international law and the basic rights of migrants.

The deportations have faced opposition by courts in the U.S., though the Supreme Court in June allowed the government to restart swift removals of migrants to countries other than their homelands.

Other African nations receiving deportees from the U.S. include Uganda, Eswatini and Rwanda. Eswatini, in southern Africa, received five men with criminal backgrounds in July. Rwanda announced the arrival of a group of seven deportees in mid-August.

South Sudan repatriates Mexican man deported from US in July
South Sudan has repatriated a Mexican man deported from the United States in July. Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez was among eight people held in South Sudan since their deportation.

https://apnews.com/article/south-sudan-us-mexico-deportations-924ebd609d65efc6681f4bb59b6cc94e

Latin Times: Trump Admin Already Sending Migrants To African Country As Part Of Deportation Agreement

Posted on by
Reply

Seven migrants from third countries were sent to Rwanda, the country confirmed

The Trump administration deported seven migrants from third countries to Rwanda in August as part of an agreement, the African nation confirmed on Thursday.

Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said in a statement that the group arrived to the country in mid-August, ABC News reported.

They were “accommodated by an international organization,” Makolo added, and are being visited both by members of the International Organization for Migration and the Rwandan social services.

“Three of the individuals have expressed a desire to return to their home countries, while four wish to stay and build lives in Rwanda,” the spokeswoman added. They are also set to receive workforce training and healthcare. She provided no information of the migrants sent to the country.

Rwanda will take up to 250 migrants following an agreement signed in June.

Four African countries accepted receiving migrants from third countries from the U.S., the other ones being Eswatini, South Sudan and Uganda.

Uganda is the latest one to do so, with CBS News reporting earlier this month that it agreed to the deal as long as deportees don’t have criminal records. It is not clear how many migrants the country is willing to accept.

Overall, at least a dozen countries have already accepted or agreed to accept deportees from third nations so far in the second Trump administration.

Earlier this month the Miami Herald reported that more than three in ten migrants deported to third countries are Venezuelan. The outlet scanned through data obtained by the University of California’s Deportation Data Project. It showed that Venezuelans make up the largest share of deportees sent to countries where they were neither born nor were citizens.

Overall, close to 3,000 Venezuelans were deported to third countries during the first six months of the year, although the outlet clarified that the dataset is likely incomplete. Over two hundreds were infamously sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador, where many claimed to be subjected to numerous abuses before being released as part of a three-part agreement involving the U.S., Venezuela and the Central American country.

Most have been sent to Spanish-speaking countries including Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Spain. However, two were sent to Austria, one to Italy, one to Syria and one to Vanuatu, in the Pacific.

Overall, 7,900 such deportations were recorded by then, with Venezuelans representing 36.71% of the total. They are followed by Guatemalans (20%) and Hondurans (7.8%).

Trump Admin Already Sending Migrants To African Country As Part Of Deportation Agreement
The Trump administration deported migrants from third countries to Rwanda in August, the African nation confirmed

https://www.latintimes.com/trump-admin-already-sending-migrants-african-country-part-deportation-agreement-588923

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Looks for More Countries to Take Migrants

Posted on by
Reply

Officials say they have asked several countries in Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe

These people came to the United States in search of a better life, as many millions have done over the past 250 years.

And their reward? Trump is forcibly exporting them to whatever third-world country will take them.

The Trump administration is pursuing agreements with several more countries to take migrants deported from the U.S., according to officials familiar with the matter.

Immigration officials are seeking more destinations where they can send immigrants the U.S. wants to deport, but whose countries are slow to take them back or refuse to. Their desired model builds on a one-time deal the administration struck with Panama in February, under which they sent a planeload of over 100 migrants, mostly from the Middle East, to the Central American nation. Panama then detained the migrants and worked to send them to their home countries.

The officials are in conversations with countries in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, but aren’t necessarily looking to sign formal agreements, the people said.

…

Among the countries the U.S. has asked to take the deportees are Libya, Rwanda, Benin, Eswatini, Moldova, Mongolia and Kosovo.

Exclusive | U.S. Looks for More Countries to Take Migrants – WSJ

Libya, Rwanda, Benin, Eswatini, Moldova, Mongolia and Kosovo? How inhumane can they get?