(April 21, 2026) In light of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Equatorial Guinea, the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, Pan African Lawyers Union, Equatorial Guinea Justice, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Global Strategic Litigation Council, and the undersigned allied partners humbly request His Holiness' attention to the worrying situation of individuals deported from the United States to African countries where they are not nationals and have no ties. The Pope has visited Cameroon, a country that has received such individuals, and is visiting Equatorial Guinea where others are stranded in precarious situations and unprotected.

Most of these men and women suffered the worst kinds of abuse humans can inflict upon one another, including religious persecution, gender-based violence and torture. As a result, some were granted protection by U.S. immigration judges, who ruled that they could not be deported to their countries of origin because doing so would place them at serious risk of persecution or torture. Others were never even given the opportunity to go through the legal process and instead were ordered deported, with instructions to seek protection abroad. Despite the judges’ binding orders of protection and the United States’ international legal obligation to allow individuals to seek asylum there, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported hundreds of people to so‑called “third countries” where they are subjected to pressure to be sent back precisely to the countries they are fleeing. 

In the dead of night on January 21, 2026, ICE forced individuals onto a plane without any explanation of where they were going, under threat of physical harm. Their pleas for mercy were ignored. They were painfully and humiliatingly shackled and restrained throughout the flight and eventually deplaned in Equatorial Guinea. Some remain there today where they are being threatened with deportation to countries where they face persecution or lack adequate protection, while also being restricted from accessing legal support, denied medical care and basic hygiene supplies, and exposed to serious health conditions. Others have been forcibly returned to their countries of origin or to countries where their protection is not guaranteed. The circumstances surrounding the U.S. government’s deportation of these individuals with urgent protection needs are deeply troubling and raise serious human rights concerns.

The suffering of these individuals cannot be viewed in isolation. As widely reported by Reuters, The New York Times, and other major media outlets, the United States has in recent months dramatically expanded its use of third‑country deportations across Africa. In April 2026 the Democratic Republic of the Congo agreed to receive asylum seekers. On April 17, the U.S. deported around 15 people from Latin America there. Additional African countries including Ghana, Eswatini, Uganda and Rwanda have also accepted individuals under similar arrangements, many of whom were subsequently forcibly returned to countries where they face persecution. 

These practices circumvent humanitarian protections, expose refugees to detention and coercion, and subject individuals to refoulement, in direct contravention of international law and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The principle of non-refoulement is a bedrock principle of international law which prohibits States from sending people to places where their lives or freedom would be at risk. 

The conditions under which these deportations have been carried out have also reflected a very troubling disregard for human life and safety. We call for the intercession of Pope Leo XIV to discourage African countries from being complicit in these violations and instead to protect these individuals.

His Holiness reminded us that “every migrant is a person and, as such, has inalienable rights that must be respected in every situation.” He further observed that “not all migrants move by choice, but many are forced to flee because of violence, persecution, and conflict.” His Holiness’s recent support for the U.S. Bishops’ special message opposing mass deportations, and his consistent message of compassion toward migrants, offer hope to refugees throughout the world.

In conjunction with His Holiness’s visit to Equatorial Guinea, we humbly plead for His Holiness’s moral and pastoral intervention to encourage the fair, humane, and lawful treatment of these individuals, including meaningful access to legal protections and protections from refoulement.

Respectfully,

The undersigned African, refugee-led and international organizations: 

1. Advocacy 4 Justice and Dignity

2. Africa for Future Generations

3. Africa Unite                                                        

4. African Queer Voices

5. African Solidarity Campaign

6. Amis BK Support Group

7. Amnesty International

8. Asian Americans Advancing Justice

9. Baba Mzazi Media Group  

10. Beautiful Rubies Organization

11. Center for Gender & Refugee Studies

12. Changemakers - Women Empowerment Organization

13. Comisión Ecuatoguineana de Juristas (CEJ)

14. Congolese Civil Society of South Africa

15. Congolese Renaissance Movement

16. Cristosal Centroamérica

17. DIGNITY Kwanza

18. DMS Ministries

19. EG Justice

20. Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights

21. Free State Refugee Community

22. Frulaw Chambers

23. Global Rights Advocacy

24. Global Strategic Litigation Council

25. Governance and Livelihoods Agenda

26. Haitian Bridge Alliance

27. House of Prayer and Empowerment International Ministry

28. House of Restoration Vision

29. Human Rights First

30. Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa

31. Interhelp Women Empowerment

32. Kituo Cha Sheria - Legal Advice Centre

33. Kivu Solidarity for All

34. Mazwi Foundation

35. MbaIvo Initiative (Ambazonian Organization).

36. Melnita Greener Earth Foundation

37. Migration Pulse Hub

38. North West House of Refugee

39. Open Society Justice Initiative

40. People for Justice Equality for All

41. Phephisa Survivor Network

42. Phunyeletso Foundation

43. Red Jesuita con Migrantes

44. Refugee Alliance for Justice

45. Refugee Legal Networks

46. Refugees International

47. Refugees Living with Disabilities

48. Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center

49. Rwandan Platform for Dialogue, Truth and Justice.

50. Rwandan Refugee Living in Cape Town

51. Salamende Ntsomi Foundation

52. Sanctuary foundation

53. Servicio Jesuita para Migrantes Costa Rica

54. Somali Association of South Africa

55. Somali Community Service EC

56. Somali Leaders Association of South Africa.

57. South Africa Refugee Led Network

58. Sunnyside Basketball Club

59. Synergie Des Organisations pour le Développent

60. The International Rescue Committee

61. Timely Interactions ~ Mental Health & Well-being Matters

62. Umoja Development Foundation

63. United Ethiopian Community (Northwest)

64. Village of Hope

65. Voice of Africans for Change

66. Walk of Faith Afrika

67. Women and Children Empowerment Project

68. Xaveri South Africa

69. YomeLeLA Farming Project

70. Zimbabwe Migrants Support Network

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