UN experts and rights groups criticise secret U.S. third-country deportations

An international journalistic investigation led by Forbidden Stories revealed that the U.S. government transferred over 25,000 migrants and asylum seekers to 28 third countries under undisclosed bilateral agreements. Internal State Department documents show that approximately 20,000 individuals were sent by bus to Mexico, while more than 5,000 were flown to foreign nations with which they had no prior connections. Some deportees had previously received legal protection from U.S. immigration courts.

Following the revelations, more than a dozen United Nations human rights experts urged Washington to immediately halt third-country transfers, warning that individuals face heightened risks of abuse, torture, and persecution. Concurrently, human rights organisations expressed concern over plans to deport hundreds of detained Afghans to Pakistan, raising fears of their eventual return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Sources: Avaz, Danas, Index, Klix, Vijesti.