Is it deportation or exile? Five men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos — convicted of serious crimes — were flown not to their home countries but to Eswatini, a tiny African kingdom run by a king who holds absolute power.
The administration says their crimes were so barbaric their home countries wouldn’t even take them back — so they shipped them to a nation where political parties are banned, pro-democracy activists assassinated and the king lives in gold-plated luxury while most people live on $4 a day in poverty.
Eswatini says it’s just holding the five men in transit but gave no further timeline.
Even immigration lawyers are asking what was promised in exchange — foreign aid, tariff breaks or visa deals?
Under a new ICE memo, people can be sent to third countries with as little as six hours’ notice.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
