Deportation destination squeeze
The U.S. is having trouble deporting migrants to third countries even as the administration pushes for higher removal numbers. CNN reports logistical and diplomatic limits — and cites a Migration Policy Institute estimate that about 15,000 people were deported to third countries in 2025, a small share of total removals. (cnn.com)
The Trump administration has signed deportation deals around the world, but sending migrants to countries they are not from is still producing only a small share of removals. (migrationpolicy.org) The Migration Policy Institute estimated about 15,000 people were deported to third countries between January 20 and December 31, 2025, and about 13,000 of them were sent to Mexico. The same analysis said the administration had entered into agreements with 27 countries in its second term. (migrationpolicy.org) Those agreements are running into basic limits. The Migration Policy Institute said that, except for Mexico, most countries agreed to take only a few hundred deportees, which keeps the program far below the White House’s stated goal of 1 million deportations a year. (migrationpolicy.org) A third-country deportation means the United States sends someone to a country that is not their country of citizenship or last habitual residence. The Department of Homeland Security says a repatriation can be a removal, a return, or a Title 42 expulsion, and it counts returns to a third country in that broader category. (ohss.dhs.gov) The legal process adds another brake. The Migration Policy Institute said U.S. law requires “sufficient reliable assurances” that deportees will not be persecuted or tortured or sent onward to a country where they would be, and the receiving country must specify which groups it will accept. (migrationpolicy.org) That process has been tied up in court for more than a year. The Supreme Court said on June 23, 2025, that the administration could resume third-country removals while appeals continued in *Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D.*, after a lower court had blocked deportations without notice and a chance to raise fear-based claims. (supremecourt.gov) Democratic lawmakers are now pressing for an investigation. In an April 8, 2026 letter first reported by NBC News, 30 lawmakers asked the inspectors general at the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to review what they called an “unlawful and costly” policy, while the State Department said implementing President Donald Trump’s immigration policies remains “a top priority.” (nbcnews.com) Public tracking groups say the map keeps expanding even as the numbers stay limited. A Refugees International and Human Rights First tracker said on March 12, 2026, that it was documenting U.S. third-country deportations and related agreements across Africa, Asia, and other regions. (refugees.org) The squeeze is simple: the administration wants deportation numbers to rise fast, but third-country removals depend on foreign governments, court rules, and limited bed space on the other end. So even with more agreements on paper, this part of the deportation system is still moving in the hundreds, not the millions. (migrationpolicy.org)
