According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a recent deportation flight arrived in the Kingdom of Eswatini, located in Southern Africa. This is part of a larger scheme to route migrants back to their native countries via other countries. This adjustment demonstrates how the Biden administration is modifying how it deals with a large number of individuals crossing the border and collaborating with other countries to reduce migration.
A New Era for Immigration Enforcement in the United States
This flight to Eswatini is part of a bigger effort to prevent people from entering the US illegally by rapidly returning those who have no legal cause to stay. According to the official DHS announcement, this was the third deportation trip to a third nation in the past several weeks. The United States is working with countries that are willing to let people and non-citizens traverse their borders.
Why Eswatini?
Eswatini, a landlocked country between South Africa and Mozambique, has joined the pilot project as a partner. There isn’t much information available on bilateral agreements, but the fact that African countries are increasingly participating in US repatriation programs demonstrates a shift in how the US approaches immigration diplomacy and logistics. Deportations have always involved direct returns, but as migration patterns shift, so do return procedures. More and more people are collaborating throughout the world.
This third-country method is comparable to how European governments collaborate with African and Middle Eastern countries to limit migration flows. The United States appears to be doing the same thing, leveraging diplomatic channels to share the burden and responsibility of global migration.
As enforcement proceeds, these foreign return flights are anticipated to play a significant role in the United States’ overall immigration and border security strategies.
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