United States of America - February 2025
Undocumented migrants transferred to third countries and Guantanamo Bay base
Undocumented migrants have been transported to third countries and the US military base in Guantanamo Bay for their ultimate repatriation. Rights groups and family members have sued on behalf of individual migrants and challenged the deportation schemes, given their impact on migrants’ rights, particularly due process. The US has resorted to agreements with El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama to facilitate the deportation of nationals of countries with which diplomatic relations are inexistent or tense. In Panama, a country that received people swiftly deported from the US without the ability to claim asylum, activists have denounced a lack of access to legal counsel, translation services and prolonged detention. Officials claimed those sent to Guantanamo were high-risk detainees, that is, suspected of or known to have links to criminal groups, including those designated as terrorist. However, most have not been charged or convicted of serious crimes. By early March nearly 300 migrants had been transferred to Guantanamo; most were deported but around 40 people were sent back to the US, without the government explaining the reasons.
