Ghana: Detention and Secret Expulsions Raise Alarm Over Role in U.S Deportation Scheme

In September, Reuters reported that Ghana had agreed to accept West African nationals deported from the United States under a new agreement between the two countries–marking yet another expansion of the Trump Administration’s unprecedented efforts to summarily deport irregular migrants to third countries. Shortly after their arrival in Ghana, the deportees were reportedly expelled to Togo. Ghana was previously accused, in 2023, of unlawfully expelling refugees from Burkina Faso, undermining Ghana’s commitment to international legal standards. […]

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U.S military personnel are pictured at Bundase Camp, Ghana, in 2018. (c) https://www.dvidshub.net/image/4568343/brig-gen-leboeuf-visits-bundase-training-camp-during-ua18

Belarus: Using the Separation of Mothers from Their Children as a Migration Enforcement Strategy

On 7 August, Belarusian authorities expelled a young Guinean mother while her young baby remained in Belarus. Reportedly, the mother was removed without due process–including the ability to challenge her separation from her child. UN experts have condemned the incident, which reflects a broader pattern in Belarus of using parental separation from children for both immigration and political reasons.  […]

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"Lukashenko: Belarus needs migrant workers to prevent critical labor shortage" - source: Belta

Deportations to Eswatini Reflect Unprecedented Expansion of U.S Detention Regime 

The Trump administration’s recent deportation of five migrants to the southern African country of Eswatini is the latest in the country’s unprecedented expansion of its immigration enforcement system. This has included growing numbers of migrant raids and arrests, massive injections of funding for Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE), record numbers of detentions, and a proliferating range of overseas targets for “third-country deportations”–including, most recently, the tiny island nation of Palau. […]

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A satellite view of the Matsapha Correctional Complex, where local media reports the U.S deportees have been detained (Google Earth)

Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Since late June, Iran has expelled more than half a million Afghan refugees–coinciding with the country’s brief war with Israel. “We urge the Special Rapporteur not to overlook the plight of the millions of undocumented Afghan refugees in the country, whose plight often gets overlooked amidst the surge of conflicts, tragedies, and humanitarian crises afflicting the greater Middle East today.” […]

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Guest Opinion: “Cruelty Is Not My Flag: Contesting Arbitrary Detention and Deportations from the Dominican Republic”

In its latest efforts to remove Haitian migrants, authorities in the Dominican Republic have introduced a slate of new immigration control measures–amongst them a new protocol requiring the presence of immigration officers in hospital maternity wards and for women without paperwork to be deported immediately. This latest cruel and misogynistic policy further deepens migrant women’s vulnerabilities, increasing the obstacles they face in accessing vital public health services. […]

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A woman and child are pictured next to a migration control vehicle in the Dominican Republic (c) BBC/Getty Images https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cd7vj03j9n8o

Russia: Weaponising Immigration Policies to Push Migrants into War and Launching a New “Expulsion Regime” 

Russia is ramping up immigration enforcement to pressure migrants to join the frontline in Ukraine and increase deportations of people from various Asian countries. As part of the Kremlin’s efforts to bolster military strength, foreigners continue to be coerced into fighting in Ukraine–with many being threatened with deportation should they refuse to fight. And since […]

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A Federal Migration Service bus at a construction site in Moscow (c) Moskva News Agency

United States and El Salvador: A Scheme to Deport Migrants from the US to a “Human Rights Black Hole” 

On 7 April, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could continue deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador’s “supermax” CECOT prison, referred to by observers as a “human rights black hole.” In March, more than 260 people were deported and placed in the facility under the US’s controversial agreement with El […]

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Detainees inside El Salvador's CECOT facility

Panama: A “Bridge” Serving Trump’s Sweeping Deportation Plans

The US has deported hundreds of people to countries like Panama, Costa Rica, and El Salvador as part of the Trump administration’s plan to deport “millions.” On arrival in Panama, deportees have been detained in several ad hoc facilities where reports highlight a serious disregard for fundamental human rights.  […]

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Deportees call for assistance from inside the Decapolis Hotel, source: Getty/BBC

Guest Opinion: “The Dominican Republic Must End Collective Deportations of Haitians”

Guest Post by Bridget Wooding (OBMICA) On 2 October, the Dominican Republic’s Migration Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior and Police announced an upscaled operation “to deport 10,000 Haitians each week.” This decision had been taken by the Defence and National Security Council, headed up by President Luis Abinader. According to the Council’s directive, […]

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