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In a controversial shift, the Trump administration has designated Eswatini as the new deportation destination for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant whose legal battle has spotlighted the administration’s aggressive immigration policies.
Abrego, who arrived in the U.S. as a teenager and has a U.S. citizen wife and child, was previously ordered deported to Uganda. That plan collapsed after a federal judge accepted his claims of potential persecution and torture. U.S. officials have now opted for Eswatini, citing fewer legal complications, despite the country’s opaque agreement with Washington. An internal email from Homeland Security mocked Abrego’s fears, noting he claimed persecution in over 20 countries. “That claim of fear is hard to take seriously,” it read. Yet, Abrego’s legal team warns that the strategy of using alternative nations — especially those with questionable human rights records — undermines asylum law and due process.
The move comes amid revelations of a $500 million U.S.-Eswatini agreement allegedly approved by King Mswati III, allowing the small African kingdom to detain foreign deportees, including violent criminals, and with some reports even accusing the absolute monarch of personally benefiting from the controversial deal. Five men deported from the U.S. are currently held in high-security Eswatini prisons, despite having no legal ties to the country. Civil society groups in Eswatini have condemned the deal as “human trafficking disguised as deportation,” while officials and human rights groups in neighboring South Africa have raised alarm over the regional implications, demanding public scrutiny of the U.S.-Eswatini arrangement. As protests grow in Eswatini and legal challenges mount, Abrego’s case has become a flashpoint for both American immigration policy and global human rights advocacy.
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