The United States deported more than 25,000 people under secret agreements with 35 countries to receive migrants who have no ties to those nations, according to an investigation published Monday. Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the United States has signed agreements with developing countries to accept migrants who cannot legally be sent back to their countries of origin.
The investigation by the nonprofit organization Forbidden Stories revealed that the government allocated $410 million to be paid directly to receiving countries or to United Nations agencies to facilitate the deportations. At least 25,447 people were deported to third countries through August 31, 2026, according to data compiled by Forbidden Stories together with a consortium of international journalists.
The vast majority, about 20,000, were sent to Mexico, while the rest were distributed among 27 other countries in Latin America, Africa and the Pacific. Agreements were also finalized with seven additional countries. The agreements vary, including which nationalities may be deported and whether people with criminal records can be accepted.
Legal limbo
An investigation published earlier this year revealed that Washington has been using visa bans and restrictions against African countries to pressure them into accepting deportees. Lawyers said that deportees were being placed in a “legal limbo,” detained without charges in countries with which they have no ties and where they have few rights, if any.
Forbidden Stories reported that 49 of Africa’s 54 countries had been contacted to determine whether they would accept deportees from third countries. A little-known division of the State Department, the Office of Remigration, created in May 2025, handled most of the negotiations and payments, according to the same source.
The office is headed by Christian Jove Ehrhardt, a 41-year-old diplomat who previously worked as a security officer. The report details his visits to Cameroon, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States in December to accept deportees. One week later, it also signed a five-year health assistance program worth nearly $400 million.
The following month, the State Department said it would provide another $30 million to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, in Cameroon to “facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and combat illegal immigration.” The first plane carrying deportees arrived in Cameroon on January 14.
Payments
Other agreements include direct payments to governments. Palau, a small Pacific island nation with a population of fewer than 18,000 people, signed an agreement in December 2025 to accept up to 75 third-country nationals in exchange for $7.5 million. So far, however, only three people have been sent under the agreement.
In Eswatini, 32 people have arrived since July 2025, out of a potential total of 160 contemplated under an agreement worth more than $5 million. According to the investigation, the country agreed to accept deportees with criminal records.
Of the $410 million budgeted for the agreements, internal State Department documents showed that $81 million was intended for the governments that signed them. The remainder was earmarked for aid organizations, including more than $178 million for the UN’s International Organization for Migration, or IOM, and $123 million for UNHCR.
The agencies have faced criticism over their involvement, although UNHCR told Forbidden Stories that it was not a party to the bilateral agreements and that U.S. funding was being used in accordance with its mandate to strengthen asylum systems. An IOM spokesperson told Forbidden Stories that the agency’s decisions to accept funding were based “on a single question: whether our involvement will improve the lives of the migrants affected. In these cases, we firmly believe that it will.”
Facts Only
* The United States deported more than 25,000 people under secret agreements with 35 countries to receive migrants without ties to those nations.
* Agreements were signed with developing countries to accept migrants who cannot be legally sent back to their countries of origin since January 2025.
* The government allocated $410 million for payments directly to receiving countries or UN agencies to facilitate deportations.
* At least 25,447 people were deported to third countries by August 31, 2026.
* The majority of deported individuals were sent to Mexico, with the remainder distributed among 27 other countries in Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific.
* Agreements varied concerning which nationalities could be deported and acceptance of people with criminal records.
* Forty-nine of Africa’s 54 countries were contacted regarding accepting deportees from third countries.
* The Office of Remigration, created in May 2025, handled most negotiations and payments.
* Christian Jove Ehrhardt heads the Office of Remigration.
* Cameroon signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. in December to accept deportees and a health assistance program was signed.
* $30 million was provided to the UNHCR in Cameroon to facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and combat illegal immigration.
* Palau agreed to accept up to 75 third-country nationals in exchange for $7.5 million.
* Eswatini agreed to accept deportees with criminal records, with 32 people arriving since July 2025 under an agreement worth more than $5 million.
* $81 million of the $410 million budget was intended for signatory governments.
* $178 million was earmarked for the IOM and $123 million for UNHCR.
Executive Summary
The United States has entered into secret agreements with 35 countries to receive migrants who lack ties to those nations, following the administration of President Donald Trump, which involves accepting individuals who cannot be legally returned to their countries of origin. These deportations were facilitated by a budget of $410 million allocated for payments to receiving nations or UN agencies. At least 25,447 people were deported to third countries by August 31, 2026, primarily sent to Mexico and other nations in Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific.
The process involved establishing mechanisms, including an internal State Department division named the Office of Remigration, which handled negotiations and payments. This office is headed by Christian Jove Ehrhardt. The agreements vary regarding which nationalities can be deported and whether criminal records are accepted, creating a situation where deportees are placed in legal limbo in receiving countries.
Funds were distributed among various entities; $81 million was intended for signatory governments, while the remainder was allocated to aid organizations such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UNHCR. The IOM and UNHCR have defended their involvement by citing their mandates related to strengthening asylum systems and improving migrant lives, though they stated they were not parties to the bilateral agreements.
Full Take
The operation described illustrates a pattern of statecraft that operates outside conventional legal frameworks, creating systemic instability by outsourcing migration management through non-traditional diplomatic channels. The creation of structures like the Office of Remigration demonstrates an effort to establish parallel administrative pathways for migration management, effectively bypassing established international obligations and creating states of "legal limbo" for displaced individuals. This pattern involves leveraging financial incentives—payments to governments and aid agencies—to achieve policy objectives that would otherwise be prohibited by international law concerning the handling of refugee and migrant status.
The distribution of resources, with significant funding channeled through multilateral organizations like the IOM and UNHCR despite contractual disagreements, suggests a strategy of narrative control where humanitarian concerns are compartmentalized from operational execution. The mechanism of using visa bans against African nations to pressure them into accepting deportees reinforces a dynamic where legal status is weaponized to enforce compliance in external actors. This reflects a systemic move toward defining populations not by established rights and obligations, but by transactional agreements, which inherently destabilizes the principles of human dignity and sovereign jurisdiction when applied across international lines.
The core implication is the shift from legally defined migration flows to managed, transactional transfers, where humanitarian concerns become secondary externalities to geopolitical maneuvering and financial allocation. When states utilize such mechanisms, even with justifications rooted in asylum system strengthening, the consequence is the creation of populations suspended outside recognized legal protection, exposing a structural vulnerability at the intersection of international law and executive power.
Sentinel — Human
The text appears to be a detailed journalistic report aggregating findings from an investigation, exhibiting the characteristic detail and source-linking typical of human-compiled journalism rather than pure synthetic generation.