An immigrant deported by the US and held in an African prison for more than a year has been released

An immigrant deported by the United States and held in an African prison for over a year has been released. Phone Chomsavanh, a Laotian citizen, was among five immigrants deported to Eswatini in July 2025 under the Trump administration's third-country deportation program. Chomsavanh, who had served his U.S. sentence, was held in a maximum-security prison in Eswatini without being charged with a crime.

He was recently deported back to Laos, according to his U.S.-based lawyer, Tin Thanh Nguyen. The deportation program, which has resulted in around 500 immigrants being sent to African countries, has been criticized by rights groups and lawyers for sending individuals to countries they have no ties with and where they haven't been charged with any crime.

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