Miami
An international investigation exposes U.S. agreements with African countries to receive deportees
France 24 and RFI took part in a project coordinated by Forbidden Stories on the expulsions of migrants detained by ICE to third countries in Africa. The report says the negotiations were opaque and that thousands of people were sent to places where they had never been.
An international investigation coordinated by Forbidden Stories and involving France 24 and RFI focused on the agreements reached by the administration of Donald Trump with several African countries to receive undocumented migrants detained by ICE and expelled from the United States.
According to the investigation, since January 2025 more than 25,400 foreigners were deported from the United States to countries where most had never been. The report adds that many of those people had legal protections that prevented their return to their countries of origin, where they could face persecution.
According to the investigation, Washington closed agreements with 35 “third countries” to carry out those expulsions. What those states received in return is not clear, since the negotiations were largely conducted in secret. Among those agreements, 12 were signed with African countries.
France 24 noted that a network of 72 journalists from 26 media outlets in 15 countries worked for months to gather more than a hundred testimonies, including 33 interviews with migrants deported under these policies.
The project also reviewed the risks faced by journalists who investigate ICE’s methods. As an example, France 24 mentioned the case of Salvadoran reporter Mario Guevara, detained on June 14, 2025 while covering a protest against ICE in Atlanta, Georgia, amid broader demonstrations against Trump. Four months later, he was deported to El Salvador.
The coverage includes reports on deportations to Cameroon, Ghana and Eswatini. According to France 24, one of the pieces follows the fate of migrants sent to Cameroon and examines the agreement sealed between Washington and Yaoundé. Another documentary reconstructs the situation of people deported to Ghana and Eswatini, including some who had lived for decades in the United States, where they worked, paid taxes and raised families.
France 24 also reported that an interactive piece documents the transfer of more than 25,000 people and the 35 countries that signed agreements with Washington. In addition, a special reconstructs the journey of people deported to Ghana on a flight on November 6, 2025.
In the case of Eswatini, the outlet said that a discreet agreement with the United States to receive 160 migrants convicted by U.S. courts sparked unprecedented protests in that country.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do its own reporting on this event.
