Several Latino immigrants, including Cuban nationals, have reported being deported by the U.S. government to the Central African Republic, a country classified as an extreme-risk destination due to armed conflict, violent crime, and terrorism. These individuals describe themselves as being in a state of legal limbo, lacking identification and the ability to travel.
Yasmany Moreno de Armas, a 32-year-old Cuban who arrived in the U.S. a decade ago under a policy allowing Cubans who reached U.S. soil to stay, was detained by federal immigration authorities last May while seeking legal status through asylum. He states he was placed on a plane with other detainees, only to be told mid-flight that he was being deported to Africa.
According to the immigrant rights organization Human Rights First, roughly 25,000 people have been deported to so-called third countries during the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. Third-country deportations involve the removal of immigrants to a foreign country where they hold no citizenship or personal ties. While such deportations are not new, immigration attorneys and advocates note that they have become more frequent and opaque under the current administration, with limited warning or opportunity for appeal.
The Department of Homeland Security stated that Moreno de Armas and others interviewed were deported to a safe country and that the agency is applying the law as written. However, the U.S. State Department's travel advisory warns U.S. citizens against traveling to the Central African Republic due to risks of unrest, crime, kidnapping, landmines, health issues, and terrorism.
"This is a country that has been at war for 50 years, where the United States does not allow its American citizens to enter," Moreno de Armas told ABC News. "And every day we are at risk."
Other deported individuals, like Cuban immigrant Aristides Fernandez Garcia, echo these concerns, describing themselves as prisoners without visas or identification. "We're prisoners here, they won't let us leave or go anywhere. Right now, even if I want to and have the means to travel to any other country, I can't," Garcia said.
The International Organization for Migration is reportedly providing assistance to individuals deported to the Central African Republic who choose to remain there. Human Rights First has criticized these third-country deportations, with director of policy for refugee and immigrant rights Savi Arvey stating that the practice shows a disregard for due process, international law, and human dignity.