At least 40 migrants who had secured legal protection in the United States after facing persecution over their LGBT status have been deported to African countries where same-sex relationships are criminalised or LGBT people face hostility and discrimination.
An investigation by Reuters found that the migrants were among people who had been granted protection by US immigration authorities from being returned to countries where they feared persecution.
However, under the administration’s expanded deportation efforts, some were subsequently removed to third countries in Africa, including Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Eswatini, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Reuters reported that at least three of the countries involved — Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Eswatini — criminalise consensual same-sex sexual activity.
The investigation identified 40 cases involving migrants who had previously obtained some form of legal protection against removal to their home countries. Sixteen of those migrants were reported to have remained in the countries to which they were deported, while others were either returned to their countries of origin, went into hiding or could no longer be reached.
One case involved a gay man from Togo who had been protected by a US immigration judge from deportation to Togo because of the risk of persecution. He was instead deported to Sierra Leone, where same-sex relationships remain criminalised.
The development has raised concerns among immigration lawyers and LGBT rights advocates over the consequences of sending people to countries where their sexual orientation or gender identity could expose them to legal penalties, discrimination or violence.
The deportations form part of a broader US effort to increase the removal of migrants who have exhausted or lost their avenues to remain in the country.
The Reuters investigation, however, highlights the particular risks faced by migrants whose previous immigration cases had established that returning them directly to their home countries could expose them to persecution.
The cases have renewed questions about how third-country deportations are assessed and whether sufficient safeguards are in place for vulnerable migrants, particularly those whose claims are based on persecution because of their LGBT status.
The US government has defended its deportation policies as part of efforts to enforce immigration laws and remove people who do not have a legal basis to remain in the country.
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