Trump Administration Secretly Deports 25,000 People

The United States administration under President Donald Trump has deported more than 25,000 people to third countries—nations that are not the original home of these tens of thousands of individuals—based on secret agreements with at least 35 countries.

These secret deals govern the deportation of foreign nationals from US territory to countries that have no connection whatsoever to the individuals being deported.

This data, as reported by AFP on Monday (21/9/2026), was revealed in an investigative report published by Forbidden Stories, an international non-profit journalism network, on Monday (21/9) local time.

Since Trump took office again in January 2025, Washington has signed agreements with developing nations to host migrants who cannot be legally returned to their home countries.

The investigation by Forbidden Stories found that the Trump administration has allocated US$410 million (IDR 7.3 trillion) to be paid directly to receiving countries, or to United Nations (UN) agencies, to facilitate these deportations.

According to data compiled by Forbidden Stories and a consortium of international journalists, at least 25,447 people have been deported from the US to third countries as of 31 August 2026.

The majority of those deported—approximately 20,000 people—were sent to Mexico. The remainder were distributed across 27 other countries in Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific region.

The secret agreements vary, including provisions on which nationalities are eligible for deportation and whether individuals with criminal records are acceptable.

An AFP investigation earlier this year found that the US has utilised visa ban and restriction policies against African nations to pressure them into agreeing to host deportees.

Lawyers told AFP that individuals deported from the US are falling into a “legal black hole,” being detained without charge in countries where they have no ties.

According to the Forbidden Stories report, a little-known division within the US Department of State named the Office of Remigration, established in May 2025, has handled most of the negotiations and payments related to this matter.