Sept. 23, 2025

Statement from Tin Thanh Nguyen, Attorney for Two Southeast Asian Immigrants Detained in Eswatini

Four men remain detained without charges or legal counsel as Orville Etoria’s return to Jamaica proves repatriation is possible

Questions please email Adolfo Flores, Flores Strategic Communications, adolfo@florescomms.com

“I welcome the release and return of Orville Etoria to Jamaica on Sept. 22, 2025, after more than two months of unlawful detention in Eswatini. Mr. Etoria's successful return to Jamaica proves that repatriation to home countries is both achievable and required under U.S. immigration policy, which mandates that third-country removal only be considered when repatriation is ‘impracticable, inadvisable, or impossible.’

A Human Rights Watch investigation released today reveals that these deportations are part of a systematic policy that could affect several hundred people through agreements with multiple African countries. The organization found that the U.S. has paid Eswatini $5.1 million under an agreement to accept up to 160 deportees, while similar deals with Rwanda ($7.5 million for up to 250 deportees) and other African nations expose people to "arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and refoulement." Human Rights Watch called these agreements ‘horrifying violations of immigrants' human rights’ that violate international law.

If one man can be freed and repatriated, then so can the others. My clients from Vietnam and Laos, along with the men from Cuba and Yemen, remain imprisoned at Matsapha Correctional Centre despite having already served their sentences in the United States and committed no new crimes. They are being held in a maximum-security prison without charges, without access to legal counsel, and without any clear timeline for resolution.

Despite Mr. Etoria possessing a valid Jamaican passport, the United States still deported him to Eswatini, where he endured nearly ten weeks of unnecessary detention. This raises fundamental questions about why any of these men were sent to Eswatini when their home countries remained viable options. Neither Vietnam nor Laos has refused repatriation, yet my clients were sent to a third country where they have now been detained for nearly ten weeks.

I respectfully call on the government of Eswatini and International Organization for Migration (IOM) to engage in the same constructive discussions with Vietnam and Laos that led to Jamaica's successful repatriation of Mr. Etoria. Both of my clients wish to return to their home countries, and I remain prepared to work directly with Vietnamese and Laotian officials to facilitate their immediate return.

Most urgently, all four men must be granted immediate access to legal counsel. Eswatini's own Constitution protects this right under Sections 16(6) and 21, yet officials continue to deny attorney visits, including access to local attorney Sibusiso Magnificent Nhlabatsi, who was hired by the men’s families and U.S. attorneys. The government of Eswatini has acknowledged in court filings that these men have neither been arrested nor charged with any crime in Eswatini, making their continued imprisonment without legal representation a violation of constitutional due process.

The successful repatriation of Mr. Etoria demonstrates that solutions exist when governments work together in good faith. We need the same political commitment to resolve the cases of the four men who continue to suffer in detention. Each additional day represents continued unlawful imprisonment of individuals who have already completed their sentences and committed no new offenses.

The Trump administration's secretive third-country deportation policy created this situation. As Human Rights Watch noted today, these expulsion deals violate international human rights law and are designed to use human suffering as a deterrent to migration. I call on both the U.S. and Eswatini governments to take immediate action to ensure access to counsel and facilitate repatriation for my clients to Vietnam and Laos. The African Union should heed Human Rights Watch's call to declare that deportations without protection from persecution or torture are 'unlawful, abusive and unacceptable.'”

— Attributable to Tin Thanh Nguyen, Attorney for Two Southeast Asian Immigrants Deported to Eswatini

Mia Unger, Staff Attorney in the Immigrant Justice Team at The Legal Aid Society, who represents the family of Mr. Etoria celebrated his release while condemning his unnecessary deportation to Eswatini despite possessing a valid Jamaican passport. The Legal Aid Society also called for immediate legal access for the four remaining men.

Attorney Alma David, who is representing a Yemeni and a Cuban national, said that Mr. Etoria's case demonstrates why third-country deportations must end, arguing that both the U.S. and Eswatini governments misrepresented facts about the case.

You can read their statements here and here.

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Adolfo Flores is the founder of Flores Strategic Communications, a media consulting firm specializing in legal and immigration cases. Drawing on more than a decade of experience as a journalist for The Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed News and the Los Angeles Times, he brings a sharp understanding of legal systems, public opinion and narrative strategy to his work. His background in national and immigration reporting informs his approach to fact-driven, legally precise and compelling media outreach.