Trump administration secretly deported 25,000 migrants to countries with no ties to them

Since January 2025, the Trump administration has deported more than 25,000 migrants to countries with which they had no prior connection, according to an investigation by the Forbidden Stories journalist consortium, drawing on data from Refugees International and Human Rights First.

About 20,000 people were bused to Mexico. More than 5,000 were flown to countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Central Asia. Investigators say the U.S. has reached secret agreements with at least 35 countries to accept such deportees; 28 have already done so, and seven more are obligated to.

From those third countries, deportees were often returned to their home countries, where their lives or freedom could be at risk. Among those deported were asylum seekers who had feared persecution at home.

Russian citizens were sent to Costa Rica, Panama, the Central African Republic, and Moldova. The New York Times, in an opinion piece, called the policy a break with 75 years of international law on refugee protection.