Story perspectives

Rights Lawyers Sue Equatorial Guinea Over Forced U.S. Deportations

6/6/2026

Center

Rights Lawyers Sue

Rights lawyers filed a case with the African Commission on Peoples’ Rights accusing Equatorial Guinea of forcing U.S. deportees home.
Nine of the fifteen migrants deported from United States to Democratic Republic of Congo in April returned home, officials said.
Equatorial Guinea signed a $7.5 million U.S. agreement that has caused at least 32 deportations.
The filing seeks an immediate halt to further deportations and compensation for those already returned.

Left

Trump Sidesteps Asylum

The deportations stemmed from secret third-country agreements that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration used to sidestep asylum protections.
More than half of the 15 Latin American deportees sent to Congo in April have returned to their home countries.
Lawyers argue the Congo deal acted as a legal loophole forcing asylum seekers toward persecution.
Four Peruvians and three Colombians returned via International Organization for Migration’s Assisted Voluntary Return program.

1 of 2

Rights Lawyers Sue

Rights lawyers filed a case with the African Commission on Peoples’ Rights accusing Equatorial Guinea of forcing U.S. deportees home.
Nine of the fifteen migrants deported from United States to Democratic Republic of Congo in April returned home, officials said.
Equatorial Guinea signed a $7.5 million U.S. agreement that has caused at least 32 deportations.
The filing seeks an immediate halt to further deportations and compensation for those already returned.

1 / 2