United States: more than 25,000 migrants deported to third countries
The Trump administration has signed agreements with 35 developing countries to deport migrants, investing more than 400 million dollars.
Getting on a plane knowing you are leaving your home, but without knowing where you are going. And with no chance of returning. This is the story that unites more than 25,000 people, who also have in common the fact that they are immigrants to the United States.
The ‘Deportation Project’ investigation, carried out by twenty-four news organisations and coordinated by the Paris-based organisation ‘Forbidden Stories’, reveals that Washington is said to have entered into private agreements with 35 developing countries to take in migrants who cannot be legally repatriated to their country of origin. Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, just over $400 million has reportedly been allocated to manage these transfers. This money is said to have been paid both directly to the receiving states and to UN agencies.
The geography and volume of transfers
The figures and information describing this phenomenon are being kept confidential by the Trump administration. Nevertheless, it has been possible to piece together the routes and the scale of the transfers thanks to the work of NGOs such as Refugees International and Human Rights First. The latter have set up a website to track the agreements entered into with third countries, as well as the number and nationalities of people deported each month.
According to the data collected, as at 31 August 2026, at least 25,447 people had already been deported from the United States. Of these, around 20,000 were transported by bus to neighbouring Mexico. The remainder were put on flights bound for countries in Africa – Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and the Central African Republic, which took in the largest numbers – as well as to Central America – with Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras leading the way – and to the Caribbean, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
