US deports migrants to Central African Republic under third-country deal

U.S. Deportation Flight Arrives in Central African Republic

A flight carrying roughly two dozen migrants from a variety of nations landed in Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR), on Friday, following a stop in Accra, Ghana.

The flight, which departed from Louisiana on Thursday night, is part of a broader Trump administration strategy to deport individuals to third countries when their home nations refuse to accept them.

"These individuals are being removed from the United States and abandoned in a country where they have no status, no connection and no support network."
— Emily Trostle, attorney for an Iranian deportee

According to Ali Rahnama, interim executive director of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, the deportees included nationals from:

• Iran
• Jordan
• Armenia
• Turkey
• Georgia
• Afghanistan

• New Agreements: The Trump administration has signed deals with several African and Latin American countries to accept third-country nationals.
• Legal Challenges: While human rights groups have questioned the legality of these arrangements, the U.S. government maintains they are legally sound.
• Scale of the Program: Advocates report that the U.S. has already deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their home nations.

The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund issued a stark warning about the risks of sending Iranian nationals to the Central African Republic.

They described the move as "a potentially fatal action," citing the close ties between the CAR administration and Iran's intelligence ally, Russia.

No official details have been released regarding housing or the expected duration of stay for the deportees. However, a source close to the U.S. Embassy told the Associated Press:

• Some deportees are temporarily staying at a firefighters' base located near the U.S. Embassy compound, which is currently under construction in Bangui.
• Others were to be housed in different, undisclosed locations.
• Men and women were separated upon arrival.