U.S. Spends at Least $410 Million on 'Third-Country Deportation' Agreements

The Donald Trump administration in the United States has reportedly poured at least $410 million (approx. 563 billion won) into agreements with various countries to deport undocumented immigrants to third countries rather than their countries of origin.

It has been found that more than 25,000 people have been deported to third countries through this method since the launch of the second Trump administration.

AFP, The Washington Post (WP), and other outlets reported that these details were revealed through a joint investigative report conducted over six months by Forbidden Stories, a France-based investigative journalism organization, involving 26 news outlets across 15 countries.

According to the report, the Trump administration has directly provided at least $410 million in funding or promised support through international organizations to countries accepting undocumented immigrants in order to swiftly send them to third countries.

It was confirmed that the Trump administration decided to directly disburse a total of $81 million to the governments of 13 countries.

Allocations of subsidy support were also assigned to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) under the United Nations, amounting to $179 million, and to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), totaling $124 million, for refugee and infrastructure projects in third countries.

Among the approximately 25,000 people deported to third countries since the inauguration of the second Trump administration, about 20,000 were sent to Mexico, while the remainder were dispersed and deported to 27 other countries across Central and South America, Africa, and the Pacific region.

The Trump administration sent immigrants from China, Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan to Costa Rica, and deported those from Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, and Jamaica to Eswatini in Africa, sending them to countries with no ties to the deportees.

According to the report, the U.S. and Cameroon signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the acceptance of deportees in December last year.

One week after signing the agreement, Cameroon signed a health support program worth approximately $400 million (549 billion won) over a five-year period.

The U.S. Department of State announced in January this year that it would provide an additional $30 million to the UNHCR operating in Cameroon, with the objective of promoting the voluntary return of refugees and eradicating illegal immigration.

The first undocumented deportee from the U.S. arrived in Cameroon on January 14 of last year.

In the case of Eswatini, it received $5 million under an agreement to accept a total of 160 undocumented immigrants, and has accommodated 32 people since July of last year up to the present.

Among those accommodated were individuals with criminal records.

The organization spearheading these agreements with third countries was identified as the Office of Remigration, established with a staff of about 15 under the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) of the U.S. Department of State.

Christian Ehrhart, the acting senior deputy assistant secretary of state leading this organization, visited Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Togo, and Gabon in succession last June to persuade various governments to accept U.S. deported immigrants who are not their own nationals.

WP reported that these negotiations were pushed forward under the direction of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a long-time confidant of President Trump and an advocate of hardline immigration policies.

International organizations that received funds linked to third-country deportations drew a line against criticism that they were colluding with U.S. immigration policies.

The UNHCR told Forbidden Stories that they are not parties to the bilateral agreements and that U.S. support funds are being used in alignment with the UNHCR's mandate to strengthen the asylum system.

An IOM spokesperson responded that the decision to accept funds "rests on a single question: Can our intervention improve the lives of migrants?" adding, "We believe it will."

WP noted that the establishment and operation of the State Department's Office of Remigration shows an unusual shift in U.S. foreign policy, as it moves away from the long-standing policy stance of resettling refugees in the U.S. and focuses instead on expelling them outside the U.S.

The publication also pointed out that the office's name, "remigration," has been widely used by European white nationalists who advocate for the expulsion of ethnic minorities and immigrants.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.