US deports migrants, including Iranian activist, to CAR
DW • • general
Key Points:
- The US deported around two dozen migrants, including an Iranian pro-democracy activist, to the Central African Republic (CAR) under a controversial agreement allowing deportations to third countries when migrants cannot be sent back to their home nations.
- The deportation flight left Louisiana, stopped in Accra, Ghana, and landed in Bangui, CAR, where migrants were separated by gender and housed temporarily at various locations, including a firefighters' base near the US embassy.
- The Iranian activist and others faced deportation after their asylum claims were denied due to a rule requiring them to apply for asylum in transit countries, a rule recently vacated by a federal court.
- Rights groups and lawyers criticize the US for deporting migrants to countries like CAR with no connection or support for the deportees, warning of potential danger given CAR's ties to Moscow and Iran.
- These deportations are part of broader Trump-era agreements with African and Latin American countries to accept third-country deportees, a practice challenged legally and seen as a method to circumvent protections for asylum seekers.