MBABANE, Eswatini (AP) — The southern African kingdom of Eswatini has accepted a fourth group of people deported from the United States under a bilateral agreement to host third-country nationals, with 11 people arriving this week, the government said Thursday.Acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said the group, predominantly from African countries, would remain in the kingdom temporarily while their rights were protected.“The government reaffirms that, during their temporary stay in the Kingdom, the fundamental rights of the third-country nationals will be respected and protected in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Eswatini and the Kingdom’s international obligations,” Mdluli said in a statement.Under a series of often-secret agreements that are part of a broad U.S. crackdown on immigration, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own, advocates say.Mdluli said measures were in place to safeguard Eswatini’s security and that of its residents while the deportees remain in the country.
The latest arrivals are expected to be housed at Matsapha Maximum Security Prison, according to officials familiar with the arrangement.
