Eswatini received $5.1 million from the U.S. government under an agreement to accept third-country nationals deported by the Trump administration, the country’s finance minister said on Tuesday.
Eswatini is one of several African countries, including South Sudan, Ghana and Rwanda, that agreed to take in deportees as part of former President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The terms of the arrangements have not been publicly disclosed, and Eswatini’s government is currently facing a lawsuit from human rights lawyers who argue that the secretive deal violated the constitution, according to Reuters.
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Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg confirmed the $5.1 million amount in a text message but declined to provide more information, stating that the transaction was overseen by the prime minister and that he only learned about it afterwards. Reuters has viewed an unverified copy of the agreement, which neither government has commented on.
The document, signed on May 14 in Mbabane, states that the United States would provide Eswatini with $5.1 million to “build its border and migration management capacity,” and in return, Eswatini would accept up to 160 third-country deportees.
“We have no comment on the details of our diplomatic communications with other governments,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said, adding that carrying out the Trump administration’s immigration policies remained a top priority.
According to available information, the U.S. has already sent at least 15 immigrants to Eswatini from countries including Vietnam, Cuba, Laos, Yemen and the Philippines. All are currently imprisoned in Eswatini, except for one individual who was repatriated to Jamaica.
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Image Credit: TRT Afrika
