Dems: Deportation deals cost taxpayers millions
By: Patrucua Zengerie
Reuters
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's immigrate deportation agreement with foreign governments cost American taxpayers millions of dollars -a t times more than 41 million per person shipped out of the country - and produce little benefit, according to a study from Senate Democrats released on February 13. [2026
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Trump aims to deport millions of immigrants in the United States illegally and his administration has sought to ramp up removals of immigrants to third countries that are not their country of origin.
..... Democrats on the senate foreign Relations Committee said in their report that the title cost of third-country removals is unknown, but that move than $32 million benefit sent to five countries - Eayatoridal Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini and Palau.
..... As of January, [2026] the five countries received only about 300 third-country national - 250 of them Venezuelans sent to El Salvador - from the United States, the majority of whom have already been returned or are set to return to their home country, the report said.
.... In one example cited, a Jamaican was sent to Eswatini at a cost of more than $181,000 despite a U.S. court's finding that he should be returned to his homeland. weeks later, he was flown 7,000 miles back to Jamaica, also at U.S. expenses, the report said.
..... The Jamaican government said it never objected to his returned to his home country, according got the report.
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Asked about the report, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said: "The entire Trump Administration is working to lawfully delve on President Trump's mandate to enforce federal mitigation law and carry out the largest mass deportation campaign if criminal illegal aliens in history."
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The White House program was a central campaign promise in Trump's successful 2024 bid for reelection and that it "is freeing up resources, revitalizing opportunity and restoring safety."
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The 30-page report was released by Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and also signed by committee Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Tim Kaine of Virgina, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois and Jacky Rosen of Nevada.
..... "This report outlines the troubling practice by the Trump Administration of deporting individuals to third countries - places where these people have no connection at great expense to the American taxpayer and raises serious questions," Shaheen said.
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Critics say Trump's third-country deportation policy aims to stoke fear among migrants and encourage them to "self-deport" to their home countries if they are in the United States and to stay home or go elsewhere if they aren't. But the administration has not provided detailed information about its plans or arrangements with third countries to accept migrants removed from the United States but unable to return to their home countries.
..... Reuters reported in January [2026] about people who are deported to their home countries despite fear of political persecution in their homelands. That included a woman form Sierra Leone first sent to Ghana and then forcibly returned to their home country from there despite a U.S. judge ahivng granted her request to go elsewhere.