A Jamaican pastor who was deported from the United States to the southern African nation of Eswatini has condemned the experience as degrading, comparing the transfer to the transatlantic slave trade.
The pastor, who had expected to be returned to Jamaica, said he was instead flown to a country with which he had no personal or legal ties. Reflecting on the ordeal, he described the process as inhumane, arguing that migrants were treated as though they were being “shipped” from one nation to another without regard for their dignity or connection to the destination.
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According to the pastor, the uncertainty surrounding his removal, coupled with detention in a foreign country, left him feeling abandoned and stripped of basic rights. He maintained that individuals facing deportation should be returned to their homeland rather than relocated to third countries with unfamiliar legal systems and cultures.
His account has renewed scrutiny of the United States’ policy of deporting some migrants to third countries under bilateral agreements. Eswatini has accepted several groups of deportees under the programme, a move that has drawn criticism from human rights advocates over concerns about transparency, detention conditions and due process.
The pastor has since been repatriated to Jamaica, but says the experience has left a lasting emotional impact. He is urging governments to ensure that immigration enforcement is carried out in a manner that respects human rights and the dignity of those affected, regardless of their legal status.
