Report details 40 LGBTQ migrants deported to third countries

LGBTQ+ asylum seekers who came to the United States seeking protection have been deported to third countries where they may face criminalization, persecution or pressure to conceal their identities. One Turkish woman, despite receiving legal protection against return to a country where she faced persecution, was detained for 18 months and deported to the Central African Republic before eventually returning to Turkey; other reported cases include migrants sent to Cameroon and Sierra Leone. A Reuters investigation identified 40 cases involving deportations to countries that criminalize same-sex relations or are considered dangerous for LGBTQ people, amid the Trump administration’s use of third-country deportation agreements. The reporting describes the practice as leaving vulnerable migrants exposed to serious harm in places with which they have no ties.