UN experts call for halt to US third-country deportation deals

Twenty independent UN human rights experts warned on 28 September 2026 that US agreements to deport migrants to countries other than their own were causing human rights violations and increasing the risks of torture and forced onward return. They called on the countries and territories involved to halt the arrangements and restore access to asylum procedures and due process. [1] [2]

The experts said the US had entered agreements with 35 countries and territories as of June. They estimated that at least 23,000 people had been transferred to 29 countries and territories. They warned that migrants received temporarily could then be sent somewhere they face persecution or torture, and that a return home might not be voluntary if someone had no lawful status, legal advice or viable alternative. [1]

Earlier investigations illustrate the concerns. Human Rights Watch and Cristosal concluded that torture and ill-treatment were systematic among Venezuelans sent from the US to El Salvador’s CECOT prison in 2025. Their investigation included interviews with 40 former detainees. [8] Reuters reported in January 2026 that Rabbiatu Kuyateh, who had been granted protection against removal to Sierra Leone, was sent to Ghana and said she was then forcibly returned to Sierra Leone. The US Department of Homeland Security told Reuters that people sent to Ghana had received due process; Kuyateh’s lawyer disputed that in her case. [9]