Expert reveals how a small African monarchy could play a ‘vital role’ in US border security

As the Trump administration carries out its crackdown on illegal immigration, Americans are beginning to see little-known countries like the African absolute monarchy of Eswatini making headlines more and more often. Although obscure, these small countries, including Eswatini, can play a “vital role” in U.S. national security, according to a border and immigration expert.

With more than 515,000 total evictions since Inauguration Day and 600,000 expected by the end of President Donald Trump’s first year back in office, the administration is on pace to surpass the record number of deportations in a single year.

Despite these high numbers, the administration has been hit by court rulings that have slowed evictions. In many cases, such as in the case of alleged MS-13 gang member and illegal Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia, illegal immigrants can further delay their deportation by arguing that returning to their home country poses a risk to their safety or well-being.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Simon Hankinson, senior fellow on borders and immigration at the Heritage Foundation, explained that this is where third countries come into play.

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was deported to El Salvador earlier this year, and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, arrive for a check-in at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., Monday, August 25, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He said the ability to deport illegal aliens who claim they are at risk of harm or torture in their home country deprives them of an effective “veto” over deportation. Hankinson said that while U.S. immigration law allows for deportation from these third countries, some countries in Europe cannot do the same, with disastrous results.

“With a good lawyer and a lot of bullshit, even the worst of the worst can stay in European countries where some of them are killing people, raping people, doing horrible things,” he explained. “So the United States does not want to find itself in this position.”

“Our law allows us, if we cannot send someone back to their country of origin, we can send them back to a country in which they have resided for a period of time, or in which they have obtained protection before, or, at a pinch, to another country that will accept them and not torture or mistreat them,” he said.

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted this image, writing on X that “deportation flights began” earlier this year. (White House)

In the United States, however, illegal immigrants can continue to argue that they face torture or threat in third countries to which the government proposes to deport them.

“If you look at someone like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, his country of origin is El Salvador. That’s where he’s from. He was ordered and deported and received a final order of deportation a few years ago, but the judge said you can’t send him back…to El Salvador. But that was the only exception. He could have been sent anywhere else in the world. And since then the government has been trying to send him to other countries that will accept him. And in each case, I believe it’s 22. Today, he says he risks torture or mistreatment if he goes to these countries,” Hankinson said.

Then there are recalcitrant countries which refuse to take back their nationals, as China, Russia and India have done in the past.

As a result, Hankinson said the Trump administration has been looking for new countries to partner with to send the deportees.

“We are the United States, we have leverage, we have the carrot and the stick to try to get countries to take back their people,” Hankinson said, emphasizing that these agreements with third countries can serve as “sticks.”

So far, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of illegal aliens to third countries, including El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Rwanda, South Sudan and Eswatini.

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King Mswati III of Eswatini appears in Pretoria, South Africa, May 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Jérôme Delay, file)

On September 5, the Department of Homeland Security sent Abrego Garcia’s lawyers a notice stating that due to his fears of persecution in 22 other countries, he would be deported to Eswatini.

“This claim of fear is difficult to take seriously, especially since you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or torture in at least 22 different countries,” the DHS notice reads. “Nevertheless, we hereby inform you that your new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa.”

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a small landlocked country largely surrounded by South Africa. Its population of around 1.2 million is ruled by Africa’s last absolute monarch, King Mswati III.

Hankinson said countries like Eswatini can benefit from these mutually beneficial agreements. As the United States gets rid of some of the excess illegal immigration into the country, third countries gain America’s goodwill, which can lead to increased trade or assistance.

Although the number of operations sent to these third countries is small compared to those sent back to their home countries, Hankinson said he believes these operations can be scaled up.

“I think the Trump administration would like to make as many deals like that as possible. So when you have a really lawyer guy like Kilmar, no matter how many times he claims he can’t go to country A or B or C, out of the 195 countries in the world, eventually he’ll run away, and we can send him somewhere,” he said.

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In this photo provided by the Salvadoran government, guards escort detainees allegedly linked to criminal organizations to CECOT on March 16, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. The Trump administration deported 238 suspected members of the Venezuelan criminal organizations Tren De Aragua and Mara Salvatrucha to CECOT. (Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)

Hankinson said the capability is “vital” to national security.

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“If an alien has a veto to be sent home, then it’s a one-way street. It’s just a ratchet and it’ll never come back down again,” he said.

“There are a lot of people who were admitted under the Biden administration, thousands of people, who have criminal records back home that we know nothing about, and who, sooner or later, are going to victimize American citizens,” he continued. “The power of these agreements is that they send a message to everyone that one way or another, if you have to leave, we will find someone to take you.”