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More than twenty independent United Nations experts issued a sharp warning on Monday about the Trump administration's practice of sending deportees to nations they have no connection to, saying the policy is setting off a chain reaction of human rights abuses. The panel cautioned that these transfers are elevating the danger of torture, cruel treatment, and forced disappearances for thousands of vulnerable people.
The experts, who include the UN special rapporteurs on migrants' rights and on protecting fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, released their assessment as Washington continues to expand agreements with developing nations willing to accept people the United States cannot legally return to their home countries. Since President Donald Trump assumed office in January 2025, his administration has pursued a sweeping deportation agenda that relies heavily on these third-country arrangements.
According to the experts, the United States has now struck such deals with more than 35 countries. Among the nations named are Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, and South Sudan. The panel said at least 23,000 third-country nationals have been deported under these agreements so far.
Those official figures, however, appear to understate the scale of the program. A separate investigation published last week by the non-profit group Forbidden Stories, working alongside a consortium of international journalists that included FRANCE 24 reporters, found that more than 25,000 third-country nationals had already been deported by the end of August. The discrepancy suggests the transfers have proceeded faster than publicly acknowledged.
The UN experts did not mince words about the legal implications of the policy. They said the agreements are "breaching the customary law principle of non-refoulement," a cornerstone of international refugee protection that forbids countries from sending people to territories where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, or other serious harm. The principle binds all states regardless of whether they have signed specific treaties, making it one of the most widely recognized safeguards in international law.
Beyond the non-refoulement concern, the experts highlighted that deportees are being dispatched "to countries or territories with which they have no ties." This lack of any connection—linguistic, familial, cultural, or otherwise—can deepen the trauma that originally drove these individuals to seek safety in the United States. The panel noted that some are sent to places where they face additional threats of violence or discrimination because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or their work as human rights advocates.
The warning also detailed the practical conditions awaiting deportees in many of the receiving nations. The experts pointed out that numerous countries involved in these arrangements lack "asylum processing infrastructure, protective holding facilities or adequate health and medical services or sustainable reintegration options." In other words, people are being transferred to environments where even basic support systems are absent, leaving them without legal recourse or humanitarian assistance.
Compounding these deficiencies, the experts observed that many of the third countries are themselves mired in conflict. Their own populations are already grappling with displacement, hunger, and severe poverty. Adding deportees to these fragile settings strains resources further and places newcomers at heightened risk. The panel described the situation starkly, warning that "for migrants in situations of particular vulnerability, the consequences can be deadly."
The independent experts singled out the groups most endangered by the policy. Children, women, people with disabilities, survivors of trafficking, LGBT individuals, human rights defenders, and stateless persons are all at gravest risk. These populations often face overlapping forms of marginalization, and the abrupt removal to unfamiliar and unstable environments can expose them to exploitation, abuse, and even enslavement.
The panel also raised concerns about the broader ecosystem of violations that these deportation arrangements might enable. They warned that the deals open the door to arbitrary detention, slavery, and human trafficking. Because the receiving countries often lack robust legal systems to protect individual rights, deportees may find themselves trapped in situations where abuse goes unchecked and unpunished.
In a pointed message to all governments involved, the experts called for an immediate halt to the arrangements. "All states and territories involved must immediately halt these arrangements," they said, framing the situation as one that demands urgent action rather than incremental reform. The experts indicated they had formally notified the United States and every other government party to these agreements of their concerns.
The panel also stressed a legal principle that could have far-reaching consequences for cooperating nations: "cooperation does not dilute responsibility." They explained that a state which knowingly aids or assists another state in conduct violating non-refoulement or other human rights obligations may itself bear international responsibility. This means countries accepting deportation flights are not merely providing a passive service; they could be held accountable under international law for the resulting harms.
Additionally, the experts revealed they are in contact with UN agencies that assist refugees and migrants, including the International Organization for Migration. They emphasized that these agencies' engagement with the deportation process "must never legitimise" arrangements that run afoul of international protections. The statement serves as a caution to humanitarian organizations operating in receiving countries, urging them to avoid actions that could be interpreted as endorsing a legally dubious program.
The experts' intervention is notable because the panel is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council and speaks independently rather than on behalf of the United Nations itself. Their collective voice carries moral weight and reflects the views of specialists in migration law, counterterrorism, and human rights, even if their findings are not binding. The timing—roughly a week after the Forbidden Stories investigation—suggests a coordinated effort to draw international attention to a policy that has largely escaped sustained scrutiny.
Taken together, the warnings paint a picture of a deportation apparatus that operates at speed and scale while sidestepping fundamental legal obligations. The numbers continue to climb, the list of partner countries continues to grow, and the protections meant to shield the world's most vulnerable are being stretched to their limits. For the tens of thousands already transferred, the consequences are immediate and tangible; for the international legal order, the precedents being set may prove equally lasting.
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