US judge orders return of migrant deported to Africa
A US federal judge has ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to facilitate the return of an Egyptian man deported to Equatorial Guinea, finding that the transfer violated his constitutional rights.
Arizona District Judge John Hinderaker said in a ruling seen on Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had deported Ahmed Soliman, 31, from the US in April without a meaningful opportunity to challenge his destination. Soliman arrived in the US at age four.
Soliman had lost his immigration status following convictions for aggravated assault and possession of a synthetic narcotic but secured protection against deportation to Egypt over fears of persecution because he is gay and members of his family had reportedly been tortured and imprisoned by Egyptian authorities.
His lawyer, Dana Camilleri, said he has been held incommunicado in Equatorial Guinea since September 11 after speaking out about detention conditions there, including threats at gunpoint by police officers. US Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat representing Arizona’s 7th District, subsequently urged Washington to secure his release, citing reports that he had been “hooded, bound, and beaten with guns and shoved down a flight of stairs” in the Central African country.
DHS argued that Equatorial Guinea’s diplomatic assurances against persecution or torture made an individual hearing unnecessary. Judge Hinderaker rejected the argument, saying the approach provided “no notice of the country of removal and no opportunity to be heard,” according to the court order dated October 6. He ordered the Trump administration to report within three days on Soliman’s whereabouts, custody, and physical condition, along with steps taken to secure his return and the anticipated timeline.
The case adds to growing controversy over Trump’s third-country deportation policy, under which immigrants Washington deems ineligible to remain in the US are sent to nations where they often have no ties.
Human Rights Watch’s analysis of US immigration data counted 536 such transfers to Africa between January 20, 2025 and August 5, 2026, including to Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Cameroon, DR Congo, and the Central African Republic.
Rights groups have reported beatings, threats at gunpoint, and inadequate medical care in Equatorial Guinea. In Eswatini, Laotian deportee Phone Chomsavanh was released on October 4 after more than a year in a maximum-security prison, AP reported, citing his lawyer.
The arrangements have also faced legal challenges in Africa over secrecy and alleged rights violations. In April, the Uganda Law Society sought court orders to halt transfers it called a “patent international illegality,” alleging that parliament and other mandated institutions had been bypassed. In June, rights lawyers sued Ghana at West Africa’s top human rights court on behalf of 27 deportees, accusing Accra of returning migrants to countries where they faced harm and demanding disclosure of the agreement’s terms.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar rejected pressure to accept Venezuelan deportees last year, saying the West African country has “enough problems” of its own.
