Transfers Under U.S. Deportation Agreements: A Case Study

In recent events, six individuals deported from the United States to Liberia resisted getting off the plane. Consequently, they were sent to Equatorial Guinea—a nation with a third-country deportation agreement with the Trump administration. A person onboard the plane, alongside a lawyer familiar with the situation, reported this occurrence.

The Trump administration has formed agreements with approximately two dozen countries under which thousands of people have been deported to nations other than their own. This practice has drawn attention for being perceived as a loophole to return some asylum seekers to countries they fled from.

The Incident on the Plane

The group onboard the flight to Liberia comprised four Cuban men, a Brazilian man, and a Cameroonian woman. A Honduran deportee mentioned that these individuals refused to leave the plane, stating that Liberia was not their country of origin and that they feared for their safety there. He indicated that others on the flight disembarked due to fears of being forcibly removed by officers.

Meredyth Yoon, the litigation director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, stated that those who resisted were under the impression they would return to the United States but ended up in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea. Many passengers arrived in handcuffs and appeared extremely stressed, including the Cameroonian woman and a Cuban man who required medical attention due to a significant health concern.

Conditions of Confinement

The six individuals are housed at a hotel in Equatorial Guinea that lacks medical personnel, despite the presence of around 40 other deported migrants. Reports indicate that conditions at this hotel, previously owned by the family of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, have worsened. Allegations include food being withheld and guards threatening and mistreating the migrants.

Equatorial Guinea’s government has not responded to requests for comment regarding these conditions. It comes under a $7.5 million agreement with the Trump administration to use the hotel, effectively turning it into a holding center for deported asylum seekers.

Personal Impact

One of the individuals transferred is Carlos Rodríguez López, a Cuban deportee who had lived in Miami Gardens, Florida. His wife, Igrayne Ribot, expressed shock during an interview, sharing how unexpected and frightening the news of her husband’s deportation to Africa was after she contacted him via video call.