US sends 11 migrants to Eswatini in fourth transfer

The United States has deported another group of 11 migrants to the Kingdom of Eswatini, marking the fourth such transfer under a controversial bilateral agreement that sends individuals to a country with which they have no ties. The group arrived on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, according to legal and local sources.

This latest flight brings the total number of individuals sent to the southern African nation under the arrangement to at least 30 since the program began in July 2025. The deportees are predominantly from African nations, though their specific nationalities were not immediately confirmed. A government spokesperson stated the individuals' fundamental rights would be respected during their temporary stay, with measures in place to safeguard national security.

The agreement, which has not been made public, involves a U.S. payment of $5.1 million to Eswatini to strengthen its border and migration management capacity in exchange for accepting up to 160 third-country nationals. The policy is part of a broader U.S. immigration enforcement effort to remove migrants, many with past criminal convictions, whose home countries refuse to accept them directly.