The United States has expelled more than 500 migrants to African countries where they had "no contact", according to Human Rights Watch

Expelled to countries they know nothing about. More than 500 migrants were sent by the American authorities to African states where they had "no contact", denounces Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report released Thursday, October 8. According to this 125-page document, these people could not be expelled to their country of origin "because of the danger to which they would be exposed there" and were therefore transferred to third countries. The NGO, which notably conducted interviews with 24 people concerned, adds that this process was implemented without giving them "a real possibility of contesting their expulsion".

Most of the people interviewed by HRW "had little or no time between the moment they were informed of their expulsion and its implementation", assures the organization, which refers to delays of "a day (...) or a week". “Many did not have the opportunity to contact or inform their family or lawyers” of their situation, which deprived them of their right to challenge the decision. Several of them were also frequently moved from one place of detention to another, without their loved ones being notified, which again complicated any recourse to American justice, reports the NGO.

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Many of these migrants have expressed fears of being victims of ill-treatment if deported to certain third countries, without this being taken into account in the procedure – which normally provides for hearings in this type of case. According to HRW, at least 12 people "identifying as LGBT" were sent "to African states that criminalize same-sex relations, or public displays of affection between people of the same sex." Several of them were refugees "who had obtained protection from the United States because of the probable risk of persecution in their country of origin", continues the NGO.

Handcuffed for “18 hours or more” on deportation flights

Several of these immigrants also reported not being informed of the destination to which they were being sent. A 35-year-old man from Ethiopia, where he had been imprisoned and tortured, for example, claimed that an ICE agent, the American immigration police, had signed a “voluntary departure” form for Chad in his place. However, he discovered upon arrival that his plane had landed in Cameroon.

“Those interviewed systematically described abusive treatment during their deportation flight from the United States, during which they were handcuffed, sometimes for 18 hours or more,” reveals HRW. Upon arrival in the third country (including Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan), some of these people were placed in detention. “Many, if not most, have had no other concrete choice than to return to their country of origin, despite the risks they run there,” warns the NGO.

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"Expelling people to countries they have never set foot in is part of a US policy designed to inflict human suffering in order to deter migration to the United States," said Michael Garcia Bochenek, HRW's acting program director for the North American country.

The NGO accuses the American administration of "violating its national and international non-refoulement obligations by sending people to places where they risk being persecuted, tortured or suffering other serious harm, or where they could be subject to subsequent expulsion and face such risks". She therefore calls on the United States to stop this practice, and asks third countries to “refuse to welcome people under these conditions”.