The United States has deported two Latin American migrants to Eswatini, a small kingdom in southern Africa, as the Trump administration continues expanding its controversial practice of sending migrants to countries other than their own.

The government of Eswatini confirmed on August 27 that it had received two additional “third-country nationals” deported from the United States under an existing agreement between the two countries.

Officials did not reveal the identities or specific nationalities of the two people, saying only that they are Latin American.

Their arrival brings the number of people deported from the United States to Eswatini since last year to more than 30.

Why Is the U.S. Sending Migrants to Eswatini?

The deportations are part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to remove migrants from the United States, including people whose home countries may not accept their return or when Washington arranges for another country to receive them.

These are known as third-country deportations.

Instead of being returned to their country of citizenship, a person can be sent to another nation willing to accept them.

Washington has reached a $5.1-million agreement with Eswatini to receive deportees from the United States.

Eswatini is a landlocked country in southern Africa bordered by South Africa and Mozambique. It has a population of roughly 1.2 million people and is one of the world’s last absolute monarchies.

The extraordinary distance between Latin America and Eswatini makes the latest deportations particularly striking.

Latin Americans Have Already Been Sent to Eswatini

These aren’t the first people from Latin America or the Caribbean to be sent there.

Previous groups of U.S. deportees sent to Eswatini have included nationals of Cuba and Jamaica, alongside people from countries including Vietnam, Laos and Yemen.

The two latest arrivals are being temporarily hosted under procedures established through the agreement between Washington and Eswatini.

Eswatini’s government says some previous third-country deportees have voluntarily returned to their countries of origin after requesting assistance to reunite with their families.

$5.1-Million Agreement Faces Legal Challenges

The arrangement has generated considerable controversy inside Eswatini.

Lawyers and human-rights organizations have challenged the agreement and raised questions about the legal basis for accepting and detaining people deported by the United States.

Critics have also argued that some deportees sent to Eswatini remained detained there despite having already completed criminal sentences in the United States.

The Eswatini government has defended its handling of the arrivals and describes the arrangement as temporary hosting of third-country nationals.

Third-Country Deportations Are Expanding

Eswatini isn’t the only country being used by the United States.

The Trump administration has pursued arrangements allowing migrants to be deported to countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas as part of its intensified immigration enforcement strategy.

The approach has become one of the most controversial elements of the administration’s immigration crackdown because deportees can potentially find themselves thousands of kilometres from their families, communities and countries of citizenship.

For Latin American migrants, the latest case demonstrates just how far that policy can reach.

Two people removed from the United States have now arrived not somewhere in Latin America, but on the other side of the world in southern Africa.

And with more than 30 people already sent to Eswatini under the agreement, the latest arrivals suggest the program is continuing to expand.