Refugees International 3d ago

The Trump administration has made numerous shady agreements with foreign governments to forcibly transfer thousands of people granted protection in U.S. courts to countries where they have no ties and could be subject to detention, torture, or deportation back to the countries they originally fled. These cruel deals are one of the administration's harshest tools to deter people from seeking refuge in the U.S. and funnel resources to governments with a track record of corruption and repression. In this episode, we hear from Dr. Yael Schacher, Refugees International's Director for the Americas and Europe and co-lead with our partners at Human Rights First on the Third Country Deportation Watch project. She spells out the various deals the Trump administration has made with governments around the world and what toll they're exacting at a human level. We're also joined by Tutu Alicante, founder of Equatorial Guinea Justice, who offers insight into how corrupt governments – including Equatorial Guinea – are benefitting from third country deportation agreements. Timed Takeaways: [5:10] How did we get here? The Trump administration's assault on the right to refuge [11:11] Setting the scene: the political landscape in Equatorial Guinea [15:14] Exploring the transactional nature of this foreign policy [28:31] Costa Rica: the second largest recipient of deportees from the U.S. [34:00] How is the U.S. legitimizing corrupt leaders with these agreements? [41:04] Cruelty by design: the human impact of these forced transfers [49:05] Khadija's story: the human toll of third country deportations [53:26] Roundup: Displacement in the news this week Mentioned in This Episode: Third Country Deportation Watch (https://www.thirdcountrydeportationwatch.org/) - Third Country Deportation Watch US has sent $7.5m to Equatorial Guinea to accept noncitizen deportees (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/10/deportations-equatorial-guinea-money) - The Guardian Latin America Gets Into Deal-Making Mode for Rubio's Visit (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/world/americas/rubio-central-america-visit.html) - New York Times Venezuelans deported by US detail fresh claims of torture and abuse at El Salvador mega-prison (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/26/cecot-human-rights-petition) - The Guardian New FAO-WFP report warns worsening hunger puts 13 hotspots at significant risk (https://www.wfp.org/news/new-fao-wfp-report-warns-worsening-hunger-puts-13-hotspots-significant-risk) - UN World Food Program Refugees International Sounds Alarm on Imminent Atrocities in El Obeid, Sudan (https://www.refugeesinternational.org/statements-and-news/refugees-international-sounds-alarm-on-imminent-atrocities-in-el-obeid-sudan/) - Refugees International U.S. Cutoff of Vital Aid to Ethiopia Risks Hunger and Instability (https://www.refugeesinternational.org/statements-and-news/u-s-cutoff-of-vital-aid-to-ethiopia-risks-hunger-and-instability/) - Refugees International Tell Congress: No Hidden Money for Israeli War Crimes (https://support.refugeesinternational.org/a/tell-congress-no-hidden-money-israeli-war-crimes) - Refugees International Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Into-the-Wood-Chipper/Nicholas-Enrich/9781668226957) - Nicholas Enrich Trump Officials Celebrated With Cake After Slashing Aid. Then People Died of Cholera (https://www.propublica.org/article/usaid-cholera-deaths-trump-humanitarian-aid-cuts-south-sudan) - Pro Publica Trump's Most Lethal Policy (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/opinion/trump-usaid-cuts.html) - New York Times Rovina's Choice (https://rovinaschoice.com/) - Rovina's Choice If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and consider a donation to support our work at https://give.refugeesinternational.org/a/forcedfromhome For more show episodes, visit https://refugeesinternational.org/forced-from-home-podcast Thoughts or suggestions? Get in touch with our team at ri@refugeesinternational.org (mailto:ri@refugeesinternational.org) Subscribe with us wherever you get your podcasts and follow Refugees International on social media @refugeesintl (Twitter/Instagram/Threads) and Refugees International (LinkedIn/Facebook/YouTube). You can also follow Jeremy on Twitter at @JeremyKonyndyk. This episode of "Forced from Home" was produced by Refugees International. Our technical director and sound designer is Joshua Suhy. Our executive producer is Madison Cullinan. The show's production team also includes Sarah Sheffer. Our music is composed by Richard Adam Keyworth from Sound Pocket Music. And special thanks to Yael Schacher, Rachel Schmitdke, and Eliza Leal.