ICE Sought 11 Third Countries for Deportees as Foreign Governments Blocked Trump Removals
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · May 20
ICE Sought 11 Third Countries for Deportees as Foreign Governments Blocked Trump Removals
4 articles · Updated · POLITICO · May 20
Court filings show the Trump administration increasingly turned to third-country deportations when home governments refused returns, exposing a patchwork of deals and repeated diplomatic roadblocks in ICE detention cases.
11 countries were approached for one protected Mexican man by March, including Costa Rica, Canada and Liberia; several said no and none had agreed, while judges released other detainees after failed efforts with Guatemala and Honduras.
Vietnam approved travel documents in 225 cases and agreed to faster processing, but ICE still tried alternatives such as Uganda and Palau for detainees who could not be sent back because of persecution fears.
Russia accepted more nationals, with the administration citing a seven-fold increase in the prior fiscal year, yet judges still rejected removals involving former Soviet refugees and an Afghan case stalled for five months awaiting Taliban authorization.
The disclosures underscore how deportations increasingly hinge on ad hoc foreign-policy bargaining, with even frequent fallback partner Mexico sometimes refusing categories of deportees, including people over 60.
When courts find deportation policies unlawful, what becomes of those already sent abroad?
How do multi-million dollar deportation deals with small nations affect global refugee protection?
What are the hidden human and financial costs of deporting stateless individuals?
U.S. Deportations Reach Record High: Supreme Court Ruling, Third-Country Agreements, and Human Rights Fallout (2025–2026)
Overview
The report highlights how the Trump administration dramatically escalated deportation efforts, following a Supreme Court decision in June 2025 that allowed the removal of legal status from about half a million people who had entered under a Biden-era parole program. This ruling led to a surge in detentions, with tens of thousands held in ICE facilities, including vulnerable groups like children. The administration also expanded third-country removal agreements, sending migrants to other nations, often with little transparency or legal protection. These aggressive policies have sparked legal battles and raised serious concerns about due process and human rights.