The U.S. government’s recently reported agreement with the Central African Republic (CAR) is the latest example of its dangerous and potentially life-threatening strategy: using secretive deals with countries to expel asylum seekers and migrants with no legal or personal connection to the places where they are being sent. CAR has experienced decades of prolonged armed conflict and violence and remains one of the poorest countries in the world. U.S. citizens are advised not to travel to CAR for any reason, and the State Department warns that doing so could result in them being killed.
While details of the agreement are opaque and have not been shared, an ICE Air deportation flight of third country nationals to CAR is reportedly scheduled for as early as this week. Among those expected to be deported, based on credible information received by the authors, are individuals from Iran, Afghanistan, and other countries who came to the United States to seek safety and who have already been granted protection by a U.S. immigration judge.
Such deportations would be unconscionable and represent a continued escalation of this broader U.S. government effort, which undermines due process, the rule of law, and human rights globally.
Third-Country Deportations
Since early last year, the U.S. government has signed a growing number of third-country forced transfer agreements with over 30 countries worldwide to expel and deport people to places where they have no legal or personal ties. This global approach, unprecedented in scope and scale, builds on policies that were first implemented during the first Trump administration to send asylum seekers from other countries to Mexico and Central America.
The U.S. government has used a mix of threats of tariffs, visa restrictions, withholding funding for international organizations, and promises of funding to pressure countries to accept non-nationals. Third Country Deportation Watch, led by Human Rights First (where one of us works) and Refugees International, has tracked that over $44 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars has been directly sent to governments in relation to these agreements, including to the brazenly corrupt government of Equatorial Guinea.
These deportations are often carried out in secrecy and without any semblance of due process: individuals are often not given any advance warning or the opportunity to challenge their deportation to a third country—with many only discovering they are being sent to a country they may have never heard of while airborne. This practice creates the risk that they will be sent to persecution and torture and violates the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act, Constitutional due process protections, and international treaty obligations codified in U.S. law including the prohibition on refoulement.
In April 2025, a federal court in Massachusetts preliminarily enjoined this practice in D.V.D. v. the Department of Homeland Security, but the injunction was stayed by the Supreme Court while litigation continued. The same federal court then invalidated DHS’s third-country removal policy in February 2026, holding that it is illegal to remove people to a third country without meaningful notice or opportunity to request protection. The First Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the district court’s order at the government’s request while it considers the government’s appeal of that decision. In the meantime, the U.S. government has been continuing to carry out these secretive deportations, in many cases without notice or the opportunity to raise fear of persecution or torture. Deportations to the Central African Republic, given its life-threatening conditions on the ground and the risk that authorities there could return people with U.S. protections to their home countries, would be unlawful.
This concern is heightened by the past experiences of individuals who were granted protection by a U.S. immigration judge for fear of persecution or torture in their home countries and then deported to other third countries. Individuals with such protections sent under third-country agreements to countries such as Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon have faced arbitrary detention upon arrival and already been sent back to their countries of origin – and the very harms they fled.
History of Ongoing Violence and Armed Conflict in CAR
Prior to and since it obtained independence in 1960, CAR has grappled with repeated cycles of violence, armed conflict, and neglect. Between 1997 and 2020 alone, 13 peace agreements were enacted involving various armed groups. In 2013, the country experienced one of the bloodiest periods of violence in its recent history. In just two days in December 2013, approximately 1,000 people were killed. Significant war crimes and crimes against humanity were alleged to have been committed by all sides, and genocide warnings were issued by U.N. officials.
A peace agreement between 14 armed groups was negotiated and signed in 2019, but has been unevenly implemented. Less than two years after the agreement, multiple signatories had rescinded and resumed fighting ahead of the 2020-21 election cycle. Following protracted negotiations in 2025, two of the main groups re-joined the 2019 peace process.
Yet despite this fragile peace agreement, the State does not have full control of the territory. Since the start of 2026, at least 60 individuals have been killed in violent confrontations between State forces, Russian paramilitary personnel, and various non-state groups. Foreign involvement, including Russian mercenaries affiliated with the Wagner Group and the Kremlin, poses a particularly serious threat. A February 2026 Lansing Institute report found that Russia’s involvement in CAR now constitutes “de facto management of specific territories and resource flows.” Wagner Group members and Russian forces have been accused of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture in CAR. Individuals granted protections by U.S. immigration judges deported to CAR may therefore face the risk of violence, serious injury, or being caught in the middle of conflict. For people fleeing persecution from countries who have close ties to Russia, such as Iranians, they may face heightened risks for their safety.
Lack of Access to Basic Resources
Additionally, CAR remains one of the poorest countries in the world, consistently ranking among the bottom 5 countries and territories globally. Approximately 70 percent of the population has been living on less than $3 per day. In 2025, the GDP per capita of CAR exceeded only four other countries – Burundi, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Yemen.
A failure to invest in and improve basic facilities and resources, including healthcare, food, and fuel, means that accessing any services is extremely difficult. Life expectancy is amongst the lowest in the world at 52.3 years, according to WHO data, well below the average for sub-Saharan Africa. U.S. cuts to global aid have only worsened these concerns, as U.S. foreign assistance accounted for approximately 50 percent of the humanitarian response in CAR in 2024.
The State Department’s own guidelines acknowledge these challenges, advising U.S. citizens that “[m]edical services in the Central African Republic are extremely limited, with no “adequate medical treatment available for routine and emergency procedures” and even minor health issues requiring medical evacuation.
CAR has very few hospitals and medical centers, and most of these are located in the capital, Bangui, limiting accessibility and creating disparities. According to the WHO, roughly only half of persons targeted to receive humanitarian assistance have been reached. Persistently high rates of tuberculosis, lower respiratory infections, malaria, and HIV/AIDS strain the already weak health system, along with a growing number of risks of potential disease outbreaks including, as of May 2026, Ebola. WHO declared the risk of outbreak is high at the regional level, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) listed CAR as one of 10 countries facing the likelihood of exposure.
The arrival of third country nationals from the United States puts them at immediate danger of health concerns and would only exacerbate an already weak system that is struggling to grapple with the existing needs of displaced persons and refugees in the country. As of May 2026, funding for only 17 percent of the country’s humanitarian needs for the year had been received.
Closing Civic Space and Democratic Backsliding
Beyond the risks above, in recent years under CAR President Faustin Archange Touadéra and his allies, there has been significant curtailment in civic space, free expression, and democratic norms. Opposition leaders and civil rights activists have been arrested and jailed, critics have been subjected to surveillance, and state-affiliated militia groups engage in regular violence and political intimidation. Civil society organizations that one of the co-authors works closely with express regular fear of speaking out about ongoing human rights violations. “Everyone is scared, you are all scared for your life and for your family,” one leading human rights activist told one of us.
Limitations on democratic norms operate alongside a broader governance environment of entrenched corruption. CAR is ranked 150th of 180 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, reflecting widespread perception of public sector corruption. Watchdog reports note weak accountability systems, including the judiciary.
In 2023, CAR had a highly controversial Constitutional Referendum in which term limits were abolished and presidential power consolidated. During the voting, Russian paramilitaries from the Wagner Group were openly involved in the vote, providing security and logistical support throughout the process. Touadéra also removed the former president of the Constitutional Court, thereby allowing for the appointment of a pro-Touadéra Court president and effectively barring those who opposed the Referendum from holding rallies or protesting this power grab.
Further, there are heightened concerns for minorities and those not Central African. Anti-foreigner and xenophobic sentiments continue to run high in the country and historically have been used as fuel for much of the violence and conflict. This is particularly worrying for immigrants, including those who may be perceived as Muslim, sent under these agreements.
Should the U.S. send third country nationals to CAR, monitoring their safety and wellbeing, as well as obtaining transparency about their treatment and conditions in the country, would be extremely challenging. This then further heightens the risks that they may face, and that these risks would go unnoticed and unchallenged.
Not Safe Enough for U.S. Citizens
Because of the ongoing security risk of “unrest, crime, kidnapping, health, terrorism,” and other concerns, the current State Department Travel Advisory for CAR recommends that U.S. citizens “do not travel to Central African Republic for any reason.” The country is listed as a Level 4 risk, the State Department’s most severe advisory level. For U.S. citizens who must travel to CAR, the State Department recommends drafting a will, leaving DNA samples with a medical provider, and establishing a proof of life protocol with loved ones in case of a hostage situation. CAR’s designation was updated as recently as January 2026, not to lower the country’s advisory level, but rather to add a health risk warning due to CAR’s current lack of reliable medical services.
By signing a third-country agreement with the Central African Republic – a country with persistent insecurity, a history of armed conflict, and lack of access to basic medical and other essential services – the U.S. government aims to deport people with no legal or personal ties to life-threatening conditions in one of the most fragile countries in the world. These unconscionable and unlawful third country deportations to CAR and other countries must be stopped.
Members of Congress have taken steps to demand oversight on the egregious use of U.S. taxpayer funding allocated to governments agreeing to accept third country nationals. They should not look away. Congress should demand further transparency and require the U.S. government to publicly release these agreements, including with the Central African Republic.
