Advancing Justice-Atlanta Condemns illegal U.S. “third-country” deportations to Equatorial Guinea and uplifts UN warning on Migration Externalization
May 14, 2026
CONTACT INFORMATION
James Woo, Communications Director, Media@advancingjustice-atlanta.org
Atlanta, GA - Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta (Advancing Justice-Atlanta) is the first nonprofit legal advocacy for AANHPI and AMEMSA communities in Georgia, the Southeast, and beyond, working across borders in broad multiracial coalitions to build power in working-class, language minority and immigrant communities. In 2025, Advancing Justice-Atlanta and partners filed a lawsuit challenging U.S. third-country deportations to Ghana, where individuals subsequently were refouled, i.e., deported back to countries where a U.S. immigration judge determined they likely would be persecuted or tortured.
Advancing Justice-Atlanta issues this statement following the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR) warning of imminent refoulement risks for individuals deported from the United States to Equatorial Guinea as a third country:
“The U.S. has a legal and moral obligation to prevent the refoulement of these refugees, who would not be in this situation but for the agreement between the U.S. and Equatorial Guinea for the latter to accept U.S. third-country deportations. Since 2025, the U.S. has entered into dozens of third-country deportation agreements, often under opaque and coercive circumstances. The U.S. must immediately withdraw from these agreements and cease exporting its inhumane mass deportation policies through these exploitative and uneven deals,” said Meredyth Yoon, litigation director for Advancing Justice-Atlanta.
As a human rights organization at the front lines of the resistance against cruel immigration policies, we recognize U.S. third-country deportation practices for what they are: A dangerous and illegal form of migration externalization designed to strip people of due process, safety, and dignity.
We urge states, governments, and human rights entities to demand an end to third-county deportations and reject all policies and practices that fail to uphold the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in international and domestic law. The U.S. must reckon with its role in creating conditions that force displacement throughout the world, uphold asylum and refugee protections, and enact open, inclusive, and humane migration policies that respect human rights, including freedom of movement.
Refugees in Equatorial Guinea are supported by Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, EG Justice, the Global Strategic Litigation Council (GSLC), the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), and the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU).
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), and other marginalized communities in Georgia and the Southeast.
