The Rushed, Blundering Effort to Send Deportees to Third Countries
AtlanticMAY 12
Nigeria Says It Won't Accept Third-Party Deportees from US
Above: Yusuf Tuggar at the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 7, 2025. Image copyright: Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Trump's monomaniacal focus on deportations has led him to alienate strategic allies in Africa and trample on the rights of migrants. Third-country deportations open migrants up to torture and mistreatment, and the U.S. has no right to offload migrants in such a disposable manner. The U.S. has turned into a bully state that retaliates against any nation that resists the Trump agenda.
Republican narrative
The U.S. is the destination for untold scores of illegal immigrants, and we cannot let stonewalling from home countries impede the progress Trump is making. Deportation agreements are a mutually beneficial arrangement that enriches others and allows deportations to be expedited. The policy has survived some court challenges and is a perfectly licit and acceptable tool.