20 April 2026
Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on Third Country Deportation to African
Countries
In light of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Equatorial Guinea, the Institute for Human
Rights and Development in Africa, Pan African Lawyers Union, Equatorial Guinea
Justice, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Global Strategic Litigation Council, and the
undersigned allied partners humbly request His Holiness’ attention to the worrying situation of
individuals deported from the United States to African countries where they are not nationals
and have no ties. The Pope has visited Cameroon, a country that has received such individuals,
and is visiting Equatorial Guinea where others are stranded in precarious situations and
unprotected.
Most of these men and women suffered the worst kinds of abuse humans can inflict upon
one another, including religious persecution, gender-based violence and torture. As a
result, some were granted protection by U.S. immigration judges, who ruled that they could
not be deported to their countries of origin because doing so would place them at serious
risk of persecution or torture. Others were never even given the opportunity to go through the
legal process and instead were ordered deported, with instructions to seek protection abroad.
Despite the judges’ binding orders of protection and the United States’ international legal
obligation to allow individuals to seek asylum there, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) has deported hundreds of people to so‐called “third countries” where they are
subjected to pressure to be sent back precisely to the countries they are fleeing.
In the dead of night on January 21, 2026, ICE forced individuals onto a plane without any
explanation of where they were going, under threat of physical harm. Their pleas for mercy were
ignored. They were painfully and humiliatingly shackled and restrained throughout the
flight and eventually deplaned in Equatorial Guinea. Some remain there today where they are
being threatened with deportation to countries where they face persecution or lack adequate
protection, while also being restricted from accessing legal support, denied medical care and
basic hygiene supplies, and exposed to serious health conditions. Others have been forcibly
returned to their countries of origin or to countries where their protection is not guaranteed. The
circumstances surrounding the U.S. government’s deportation of these individuals with urgent
protection needs are deeply troubling and raise serious human rights concerns.
The suffering of these individuals cannot be viewed in isolation. As widely reported by Reuters,
The New York Times, and other major media outlets, the United States has in recent months
dramatically expanded its use of third‐country deportations across Africa. In April 2026
the Democratic Republic of the Congo agreed to receive asylum seekers. On April 17, the
U.S. deported around 15 people from Latin America there. Additional African countries including
Ghana, Eswatini, Uganda and Rwanda have also accepted individuals under similar
arrangements, many of whom were subsequently forcibly returned to countries where they face
persecution.
These practices circumvent humanitarian protections, expose refugees to detention and
coercion, and subject individuals to refoulement, in direct contravention of international law and
the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The principle of non-refoulement is a
bedrock principle of international law which prohibits States from sending people to places
where their lives or freedom would be at risk.
The conditions under which these deportations have been carried out have also reflected a very
troubling disregard for human life and safety. We call for the intercession of Pope Leo XIV to
discourage African countries from being complicit in these violations and instead to protect
these individuals.
His Holiness reminded us that “every migrant is a person and, as such, has inalienable rights
that must be respected in every situation.” He further observed that “not all migrants move by
choice, but many are forced to flee because of violence, persecution, and conflict.” His
Holiness’s recent support for the U.S. Bishops’ special message opposing mass
deportations, and his consistent message of compassion toward migrants, offer hope to
refugees throughout the world.
In conjunction with His Holiness’s visit to Equatorial Guinea, we humbly plead for His
Holiness’s moral and pastoral intervention to encourage the fair, humane, and lawful
treatment of these individuals, including meaningful access to legal protections and protections
from refoulement.
Respectfully,
The undersigned African, refugee-led and international organizations:
- Advocacy 4 Justice and Dignity
- Africa for Future Generations
- Africa Unite
- African Queer Voices
- African Solidarity Campaign
- Amis BK Support Group
- Amnesty International Africa
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice
- Babamzazi Media Group
- Beautiful Rubies organization
- Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
- Changer Makers
- Comisión Ecuatoguineana de Juristas (CEJ)
- Congolese Civil Society of South Africa
- Congolese Renaissance Movement
- Cristosal Centroamérica
- DIGNITY Kwanza
- DMS Ministries
- EG Justice
- Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights
- Free State Refugee Community
- FRULAW CHAMBERS
- Global Rights Advocacy
- Global Strategic Litigation Council
- Governance and Livelihoods Agenda
- Haitian Bridge Alliance
- House of Prayer and Empowerment International Ministry
- House of Restoration Vision
- Human Rights First
- Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa
- Interhelp women empowerment
- Kituo Cha Sheria
- Kivu Solidarity for All
- Mazwi Foundation
- MbaIvo Initiative (Ambazonian Organization)
- Melnita Greener Earth Foundation
- Migration Pulse Hub
- North West House of Refugee
- Open Society Justice Initiative
- People for Justice Equality for All
- Phephisa Survivor Network.
- Phunyeletso Foundation
- Red Jesuita con Migrantes
- Refugee Alliance for Justice
- Refugee Legal Networks
- Refugees International
- Refugees Living with Disabilities
- Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center
- Rwandan Platform for Dialogue, Truth and Justice.
- Rwandan Refugee Living in Cape Town
- Salamende Ntsomi Foundation
- Sanctuary foundation
- Servicio Jesuita para Migrantes Costa Rica
- Somali Association of South Africa
- Somali Community Service EC
- Somali Leaders Association of South Africa.
- South Africa Refugee Led Network
- Sunnyside Basketball Club
- Synergie Des Organisations pour le Développent
- The International Rescue Committee
- Timely Interactions ~ Mental Health & Well-being Matters
- Umoja Development Foundation
- United Ethiopian Community (Northwest)
- Village of Hope
- Voice of Africans for Change
- Walk of Faith Afrika
- Women and Children Empowerment Project
- Xaveri South Africa
- YomeLeLA Farming Project
- Zimbabwe Migrants Support Network
