Reported Documents Reveal An Expanding Deportation Campaign. ICE Is Sending Afghans and Latin Americans to Africa.

The Trump administration has dramatically expanded its use of "third-country" deportations, sending more than 100 people from Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua and other nations to eight African countries over 10 days, according to a new report.

The deportees were transported aboard three Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights to Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Liberia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, according to an exclusive CBS News report. None of those removed were citizens of the African countries where they were sent.

The flights included people from Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Nepal, Nicaragua, Turkey and Venezuela, as well as African nationals sent to countries other than their own. More than 30 countries have agreed to receive third-country deportees from the United States, according to CBS News.

The list includes countries in Latin America, including Costa Rica, Panama and Paraguay, but African governments have become an increasingly important part of the administration's strategy. The arrangements vary significantly. Some African countries have apparently limited the nationalities they are willing to receive, while others have taken people from Latin America, Asia and Europe.

The Central African Republic, which received deportees on the most recent flight documented by the outlet, remains under a U.S. State Department "Level 4: Do Not Travel" advisory because of unrest, crime, kidnapping, landmines, health risks and terrorism. The State Department says the U.S. government's ability to provide emergency assistance there is limited.

Some migrants previously sent to African countries under the program had serious criminal convictions in the United States. Others, however, had no criminal histories beyond immigration-related violations, CBS News noted.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the policy, telling CBS News that when a migrant challenges removal to his or her home country, the government must locate another country willing to accept that person. "If an illegal alien chooses to file a claim in court refusing to go to their home country, we are required by law to find a safe and secure nation for them to go to," DHS said.

The State Department declined to discuss its diplomatic negotiations with foreign governments or verify the leaked documents, but said implementing the administration's immigration policies remains a priority.

Among the cases documented by CBS News is that of Khalil, a 24-year-old Afghan man deported to the Central African Republic despite having received protection from removal to Afghanistan.

Khalil entered the United States through the southern border in 2024 and remained in ICE custody. In August 2025, an immigration judge granted him "withholding of removal," finding that he could face persecution if returned to Afghanistan.

That protection prevented the government from deporting him to Afghanistan but did not automatically prevent removal to another country. His family's history makes his case particularly complicated. One brother worked alongside American forces as a member of the Afghan Army and was brought to the United States in 2014. Another brother, a pilot who fought the Taliban, was killed during the war.

Khalil's attorney, Alma David, sharply criticized his removal, saying the case demonstrated the potential consequences of the expanding third-country strategy. Zachary Schmidt, an active-duty Marine colonel who supervised Khalil's brother in Afghanistan and testified in Khalil's immigration proceedings, also expressed concern about his safety.

Schmidt told CBS News that Afghans who assisted American forces did so with an understanding that the United States would protect them and their families. "We have to keep that promise," Schmidt said.