{
  "id": 10715456,
  "title": "Inside the Business of Trump’s Third-Country Deportations",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/inside-the-business-of-trumps-third-country-deportations",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-29T15:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Intercept",
    "slug": "the-intercept",
    "url": "https://theintercept.com/2026/09/29/ice-third-country-deportation-flights/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "More than 25,000 individuals have been uprooted and thrust into unfamiliar territories, governments, and legal systems after being deported to \"third countries\" by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as part of a deportation business that surged under the second Trump administration. According to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee minority report, the objective is to instill fear in people, with countries like Palau or Eswatini chosen because they provide no connections or rights for deportees, and are located far from their homes. The Trump administration did not originate the practice of sending migrants to third countries but rather adapted it to further its own objectives. In the past, the U.S. utilized a less familiar administrative compromise for individuals who, while facing persecution or harm upon return home, did not qualify for other asylum requirements. However, the current policy, involving agreements with at least 35 countries, has been anything but humane and legal. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals initially ruled against the third-country deportation scheme, yet DHS managed to schedule flights to Burundi, Rwanda, and the Central African Republic despite a successful emergency motion by the plaintiffs' lawyers. ICE subsequently flew to two African countries that have third-country removal agreements, potentially in violation of a federal court order. The administration is now seeking a Supreme Court review. The story underscores the Trump administration’s tendency to conceal information, make secret contracts, and engage in backroom dealings. This includes digitally removing people from ICE’s online detainee locator tool and signing multimillion-dollar sole-source contracts with inexperienced companies. \"Deportation, Inc.: The Rise of the Immigration Enforcement Economy,\" an ongoing investigative video series, explores how U.S. immigration enforcement has transformed into a multibillion-dollar industry influenced by private profit and political power. The first episode, released in May, focuses on the business of migrant detention and the profit motive behind privately operated ICE detention facilities. The second episode examines the network of flights transporting migrants between these facilities and the dubious agreements struck with deportation destinations. Many details of these bilateral third-country removal agreements remain undisclosed, as they are often found hidden on obscure corners of the internet. This lack of transparency not only violates government transparency practices but may also be illegal. Lawfare, where the author serves as managing editor, has filed a lawsuit against the State Department for its failure to disclose international agreements entered into by the Trump administration, allegedly in violation of the Case-Zablocki Act.",
  "summary": "As the Trump administration fights to keep deporting immigrants to countries where they have no connections, we studied the system that profits from these grave abuses. The post Inside the Business of Trump’s Third-Country Deportations appeared first on The Intercept .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Intercept",
        "title": "Inside the Business of Trump’s Third-Country Deportations",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/inside-the-business-of-trumps-third-country-deportations-10719808",
        "published": "2026-09-29T15:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}