US has deported 25,000 migrants through secret agreements with 35 countries since Trump took office, investigation reveals.
The United States has deported more than 25,000 people to 35 countries under secretive agreements since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, an investigation revealed Monday. The administration has allocated $410 million to facilitate the relocations, with the vast majority of deportees sent to Mexico and others dispersed across Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific.
- ▪At least 25,447 people deported to third countries by August 31, 2026, according to data compiled by Forbidden Stories and international journalists.
- ▪Roughly 20,000 deportees sent to Mexico; remainder distributed across 27 other nations with seven additional agreements finalized.
- ▪State Department’s Office of Remigration, created May 2025, negotiated most deals; headed by diplomat Christian Jove Ehrhardt, 41.
- ▪US offering direct payments to receiving governments: Palau received $7.5 million for accepting up to 75 deportees; Eswatini got over $5 million.
- ▪Of $410 million allocated, $81 million earmarked for signatory governments; remainder split between UN agencies and aid organizations.
- ▪Nearly 49 of Africa’s 54 countries approached about accepting third-country deportees; visa bans and restrictions used to pressure acceptance.
- ▪Cameroon signed memorandum in December 2025, then received $400 million health assistance package and additional $30 million UN funding one month later.
- ▪Deportees described as held in ‘legal black hole’ without charge in countries where they have no ties and minimal legal protections.
- ▪Deals vary widely on which nationalities can be deported and whether people with criminal records qualify for acceptance.
- ▪UN Refugee Agency and International Organisation for Migration defended participation, saying US funding strengthens asylum systems.
Source: according to an investigation
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