Overview
- The Democratic staff report details $4.7–$7.5 million in payments tied to Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini and Palau to receive deportees.
- Roughly 300 people were moved under the program, including about 250 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador last March, while some recipient nations took few or none.
- Internal documents reviewed by the Associated Press indicate 47 third‑country agreements in various stages, with about 15 concluded and additional asylum‑hosting deals under negotiation.
- The review cites waste and rights risks, noting a guarded holding site in South Sudan and cases where the U.S. funded second flights to return people to their home countries.
- The State Department defends the approach as enforcement; Secretary Marco Rubio cited deportations of gang members, as disclosures also show South Sudan’s post‑deal requests and scrutiny of a $7.5 million Equatorial Guinea payment, with reported per‑person costs reaching seven figures in Rwanda.