Human Rights Watch: US deportations to African countries unlawful and exploit suffering

Human Rights Watch accused the US of unlawfully deporting over 500 migrants to African countries they had never visited to deter others.

• Human Rights Watch published a 125-page report based on interviews with 24 deportees in six African countries.
• Deportees said they were chained for up to 18 hours on flights and never told their destination.
• The Department of Homeland Security said third-country removals remove "the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens" and rely on diplomatic assurances.
• An unnamed US official said the policy's "point is to scare people," threatening migrants with being "dropped in the middle of nowhere."