US deportations are triggering a 'cascade' of rights abuses, UN experts warn

US deportations of thousands of people to dozens of countries are "triggering a cascade of human rights violations", heightening the risk of abuses like torture, slavery and trafficking, UN experts warned Monday. Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, Washington has been signing deals with developing countries to take migrants who cannot legally be sent home. More than 20 independent United Nations experts, including the special rapporteurs on the rights of migrants and on protecting rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, warned such agreements were "increasing risks of torture and ill-treatment and enforced disappearance". Read moreDeported to Africa: An international investigation into Trump’s migrant policy They were also "breaching the customary law principle of non-refoulement in countries around the world that are signing agreements to accept planeloads of migrants and refugees removed from the US", they cautioned. The experts said the US had signed such deals with more than 35 countries, including Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and South Sudan. They said at least 23,000 third-country nati...