Deportations to ‘third countries’ highlight risks for LGBTQ+ people

New reports highlight how the Trump administration has used “third country” deportations to remove LGBTQ+ refugees from the United States — including those previously granted safe harbor after fleeing countries where anti-LGBTQ+ laws and sentiments put their lives at risk. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is supposed to deport ICE detainees to countries immigrants self-designate. This usually means sending them back to a country of origin or to a country where they have connections. The practice of sending undocumented immigrants to “third countries” — countries they are not from and are not connected to — is typically permitted only when sending them to their designated countries is “impractical, inadvisable, or impossible.” However, even that permission comes with a caveat.

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