Nearly one million people were deported from the U.S. during the first year and a half of President Trump's second term.
asserted
people → deport → term
Most were returned to their country of origin.
asserted
Most → return → origin
About 25,000, though, were sent somewhere else – places where they may have never been and may not speak the language.
uncertain
they → send → language
They're called "third countries," because they're not the U.S. and not the person's home country.
asserted
they → call → ?
Iranians were sent to Panama, Cubans to the .
asserted
Iranians → send → the
Deportations like these can be legal, and past administrations have carried them out, but not at this scale.
asserted
administrations → carry → scale
Our five-month investigation uncovered cases in which people ended up in places where U.S. immigration judges said they would likely be persecuted or tortured.
asserted
they → uncover → places
On July 11th, Moussa Diawara, who's been in the U.S. for 25 years with no criminal record – was wrapping up his night shift as an Uber driver, heading to the home in the Houston suburbs he owns with his wife and children, who are U.S. citizens.
asserted
who → wrap → wife
But when he pulled up, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were waiting for him.
asserted
agents → pull → him
Sir, we got a warrant for your arrest of a removal outside of the U.S.
After three weeks in ICE detention in Texas – without being able to speak to his lawyer or a judge – he was put on a plane and deported to West Africa.
asserted
he → get → Africa
And that's where we met him two months after his arrest, thousands of miles away from his Texas home.
asserted
we → meet → home
That's like, "Oh, my God, what's happened?
asserted
what → happen → ?
It just didn't feel real.
asserted
It → feel → ?
I still say to myself, "This isn't real.
asserted
This → say → myself
Twenty five years ago, Diawara entered the U.S. and overstayed a tourist visa.
asserted
Diawara → enter → visa
He applied for refugee protection, arguing he would be persecuted if he were returned to Mali – the war-torn African country he's from.
asserted
he → apply → Mali
In 2012, a U.S. immigration judge ruled he could be deported, but not to Mali.
uncertain
he → rule → Mali
As a result of the ruling, he was able to get a U.S. work permit.
asserted
he → get → permit
Past administrations rarely deported people in Diawara's situation.
asserted
administrations → deport → situation
But as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation operation, ICE has deported 25,000 people to dozens of third countries that in return receive millions of dollars in aid or other benefits from the U.S.
asserted
that → deport → U.S.
On July 31st, Diawara landed in a place he'd never been – Ghana.
asserted
he → land → place
He says that he and others were detained in this hotel by armed guards and not allowed to make phone calls.
asserted
he → say → calls
I cannot call my wife, I can't contact my lawyer.
asserted
I → call → lawyer
I can't talk to no one.
asserted
I → talk → one
I tell them, "This is kidnapping.
asserted
This → tell → them
You guys kidnapped us."
asserted
guys → kidnap → us
Do you have any connection to Ghana?
asserted
you → have → Ghana
I don't have any connection.
asserted
I → have → connection
Do you know anyone there?
asserted
you → know → anyone
I don't know no one to Ghana.
asserted
I → know → Ghana
Within five days, Diawara says, Ghanaian officials forced him onto a flight to the very country a U.S. judge said he could not be deported to — Mali.
uncertain
he → say → country
This is where he was when we first managed to contact him in August: homeless and in hiding in Mali.
asserted
we → manage → Mali
Part of the reason he didn't feel safe, he told us, is that he'd converted to Christianity.
asserted
he → feel → Christianity
Diawara told us he was dropped here with no money, or ID.
asserted
he → tell → money
After three weeks in Mali, with the help of some local truckers, he escaped to another African country, which he asked us not to disclose.
asserted
he → escape → which
I called America my home, because I'm 57 now.
asserted
I → call → America
I move in America when I was 32.
asserted
I → move → America
I don't know no where.
asserted
I → know → ?
The U.S. government's position is that you overstayed your visa.
asserted
you → overstay → visa
That they had an order of deportation.
asserted
they → have → deportation
…and 90 more, not listed.
The Aporia
