At the centre of the controversy is a 28-year-old East African refugee who believed he had secured protection in the US after more than a year in detention. Although his asylum claim was denied, a California immigration judge ruled he could not be returned to his home country due to the risk of harm.
Instead, he says he was placed in restraints and flown to Equatorial Guinea, a small oil-rich Central African state with a poor human rights record.
“He told me: ‘You are now protected by US law, so you can leave the centre, work and stay in this country,’” the man recalled. “But that was not what happened.”
He is among 29 migrants transferred to the country under what rights groups describe as “third-country deportation” deals, arrangements that allow US authorities to remove individuals to nations other than their own when deportation home is legally blocked.
Legal advocates argue the policy undermines protections enshrined in both US and international law, including the UN Convention Against Torture, which prohibits returning individuals to countries where they face serious threats.
Meredyth Yoon, litigation director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice, said the strategy effectively bypasses those safeguards.
“Once deported, these individuals face impossible alternatives: indefinite detention without access to counsel, or forced deportation to the very countries they fled from,” she said.
The migrants sent to Equatorial Guinea reportedly originate from a wide range of countries, including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Nigeria, Ghana, and Georgia. Many had obtained court orders preventing their removal to their home states, according to lawyers familiar with the cases.
Seven African countries are believed to have entered similar arrangements with Washington, including Rwanda, Uganda, and Cameroon, raising broader concerns about the growing role of African states in global migration enforcement.
$40m US programme raises legal and diplomatic concerns across Africa
The financial scale of the programme has also drawn scrutiny. According to a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democratic staff analysis, at least $40m has been allocated to deport roughly 300 migrants to third countries.
Equatorial Guinea alone received $7.5m, prompting criticism from US lawmakers. Senator Jeanne Shaheen described the payment as “highly unusual” and questioned its alignment with broader foreign aid priorities.
For those on the ground, however, the situation is far more immediate.
The 28-year-old refugee described being held in a repurposed hotel in Malabo, the country’s capital, under conditions he says are deteriorating.
“It’s an old, closed hotel, and there are no other customers,” he said. “Most of us were sick because of the food.”
He added that several detainees had been hospitalised, including cases of malaria, while access to medical care remained limited.
Life inside detention in Equatorial Guinea: ‘There is no more hope’
Crucially, Equatorial Guinea lacks a functioning asylum system, leaving deportees with few legal options. According to multiple accounts, authorities have pressured migrants to leave the country, despite the risks associated with returning home.
“They told us there is no asylum or protection here,” the man said. “The best option is to leave as soon as possible.”
Some have already been forced back to their countries of origin. Yoon said at least 17 individuals had been returned after being told no alternatives existed. “Everyone who I’ve talked to since they left is not in a good situation,” she noted.
The US Department of Homeland Security has rejected allegations of abuse during the deportation process, insisting that all individuals received due process and final removal orders. It also denied claims of mistreatment by immigration officers.
Yet accounts from detainees paint a starkly different picture, including reports of coercion, poor detention conditions, and lack of access to legal representation.
The policy has also raised diplomatic questions, particularly as African countries balance economic incentives with reputational risks linked to hosting deported migrants.
The United Nations refugee agency has acknowledged that Equatorial Guinea is developing asylum procedures, though it declined to comment on specific cases.
For the migrants caught in the system, the uncertainty remains overwhelming.
“Before, we were immigrants with hope,” the refugee said. “But here, there is no more hope.”
