Men from Cuba and other countries describe being deported by the U.S. to a dangerous African nation: "We cannot leave"

Key Points:

• Cuban immigrant Yasmany Moreno de Armas and Eritrean native Zena Gebrgzabher were deported from the U.S. to the Central African Republic (CAR), a poor and conflict-ridden African nation, under the Trump administration's policy of sending third-country deportees to countries that accept them.
• Both men were unaware of their deportation destination until arrival and now face hardships in CAR, lacking documents, family connections, and familiarity with the country, which is under a U.S. Level 4 travel advisory due to insecurity.
• Moreno de Armas fled Cuba fearing imprisonment due to prior illegal exit attempts, while Gebrgzabher was protected under the Convention Against Torture but barred from asylum due to alleged military involvement; neither had criminal records beyond immigration violations.
• The Trump administration targeted immigrants like Moreno de Armas and Gebrgzabher for deportation to third countries when their home countries reject deportations or when they have legal protections preventing return home, but the Department of Homeland Security has not clarified the terms of its agreement with CAR.
• Both deportees describe their situation as effectively stateless and call for deportations to be limited to individuals' home countries rather than unfamiliar and dangerous third countries.