The United States has signed third-country deportation agreements with 27 governments since President Donald Trump began his second term on January 20, 2025, but only about 15,000 people have been removed under these deals as of December 31, 2025.

That figure represents roughly 1.5% of the 1 million annual removals the administration says it targets. The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates 13,000 of the third-country deportees went to Mexico. The remaining 2,000 are spread across partners ranging from Palau to South Sudan.

What is a third-country deportation agreement?

Under U.S. law, immigration authorities can send a noncitizen to a country other than the one of birth only if the receiving government offers "sufficient reliable assurances" the person will not face persecution or torture.

The signatory governments must spell out which populations they will accept and under what terms. Guatemala, for example, limits its acceptance to Central American deportees.

What kinds of deals has the U.S. struck?

MPI groups the 27 agreements into four buckets, with ten others unclassified because their texts remain private:

• Safe third country or asylum cooperation: Belize, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Liberia, Paraguay, Uganda. Ecuador will take up to 300 asylum seekers per year from the United States.
• Deportation bridge: Costa Rica, Ghana, Panama, Poland, Uzbekistan. Panama held nearly 300 Asian deportees in a city hotel and later near the Darien jungle last year.
• Incarceration: El Salvador, Eswatini, South Sudan. El Salvador took in more than 200 Venezuelans whom U.S. officials identified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang.
• Hybrid: Mexico and Rwanda. Mexico receives deportees at border ports and ships them south without offering protection or status. Cubans account for 6,000 of those sent to Mexico so far.
• Unclassified: Antigua and Barbuda, Cameroon, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, Kosovo, Libya, Palau, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia.

How much do partner governments get paid?

Funding is uneven. The United States committed $7.5 million to Rwanda and $5.1 million to Eswatini to hold deportees. Most other agreements carry no direct payment to strengthen asylum systems or deliver services.

Are courts pushing back?

Yes, in both the United States and abroad. In June 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily let the administration speed up third-country removals while the underlying case moved through lower courts.

A federal judge in Boston ruled in February 2026 that immigrants must receive meaningful notice and time to raise country-specific objections. The judge also criticized safety assurances submitted by partner countries. The administration has appealed; the Supreme Court is likely to hear the case during its 2026-27 term.

In Costa Rica, a court found the government violated deportees' rights by detaining them without telling them they could apply for asylum locally. The court ordered their release.

Costa Rica's migration chief acknowledged publicly in March 2026 that his agency had no plan for managing the U.S. deportee caseload, according to the Tico Times.

Why pursue deals that move so few people?

MPI's analysis suggests the goal is pressure, not volume. Officials want unauthorized immigrants to "self-deport," abandon asylum claims, or accept removal to their home country.

The threat lands because deportees arrive in countries such as Eswatini or Uzbekistan with no family, language skills, or local ties. ICE memos instruct agents to single out people granted withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture so agents can send them to third countries instead.

Government lawyers have asked immigration judges to dismiss more than 1,000 asylum cases without a full hearing, proposing the applicants be sent to one of the partner countries.

What's next?

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out 396,000 removals in the administration's first year, per MPI's estimate. Customs and Border Protection removals would push the total higher.

Congress has not held hearings on the agreements. Public data on what has happened to the 15,000 deportees sent abroad remains thin. The administration continues negotiations with other countries; Barbados has signaled openness.

Courts, not Congress, are likely to determine how far this tool can stretch.