The Trump administration has deported as many as 15,000 people to countries they are not from, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Ranging from Mexico and El Salvador to Eswatini and South Sudan, some 27 countries agreed to take in deported individuals unable to return to their countries of origin. The practice has been criticized for leaving deportees in limbo and has raised ethical and legal concerns. Ariel Ruiz Soto is a senior analyst at the Migration Policy Institute and has been researching third-country deportations.
Editors’ Note: In this conversation, the guest says that most countries foot the bill for accepting deportees from the US under third-country agreements. There are exceptions worth noting. According to a February report from the Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the United States has provided more than $32 million directly to five countries: Equatorial Guinea ($7.5 million), Rwanda ($7.5 million), El Salvador ($4.76 million), Eswatini ($5.1 million) and Palau ($7.5 million).
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