US Sends 5 Deportees to Eswatini Prison as ICE Holds 65,000 Detainees
Updated
Updated · inews · Aug 16
US Sends 5 Deportees to Eswatini Prison as ICE Holds 65,000 Detainees
2 articles · Updated · inews · Aug 16
Summary
Roberto Mosquera, 59, was taken from a routine visa check-in in Texas in June 2025 and flown to a maximum-security prison in Eswatini, a country he had never heard of.
Five deportees were sent there under Trump-era policy after their home countries refused repatriation, with the US paying Eswatini and other states undisclosed millions to hold them.
A July 2025 ICE order authorized detention regardless of residency length or community ties and required continuous custody until removal, helping drive arrests during routine check-ins.
DHS publicly described the Eswatini deportees as "depraved monsters" and said this week that "ICE is not slowing down," even as courts face mounting appeals.
ICE now holds about 65,000 detainees across 200 jails and temporary sites, while 300,000 Haitians who lost Temporary Protected Status in June are being called in for monitoring.