Washington Post exposes State Department's 'Office of Remigration' paying $400M to deport migrants
Leaked documents reveal Stephen Miller directed the agency to pay foreign governments to accept third-country deportees, skirting human rights safeguards.
What to know
- The State Department's Office of Remigration, directed by Stephen Miller, has authorized or pledged over $400 million to more than 30 countries to accept third-country deportees.
- Leaked documents reveal the program places migrants in countries with no ties to them and is structured to minimize human rights oversight, including dealings with governments flagged for abuse.
- A federal court has ruled the third-country deportations violate due process rights; the case is headed to the Supreme Court.
- State Department civil servants have leaked their opposition to repurposing the refugee assistance agency away from its historical mission of resettlement.
“The administration has authorized or pledged over $400 million for such agreements with more than 30 countries, mostly in Africa and Latin America.”
Greg Sargent, Journalist, New Republic · New Republic ↗ · Sep 22
Stephen Miller Director of Office of Remigration operationsJeremy Konyndyk President of Refugees International
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
-
1
State Department civil servants leak dismay over repurposed refugee architecture
Civil servants within the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration—historically devoted to resettling people fleeing horrors abroad—have leaked their dismay at being ordered by Miller to work toward the opposite mission: getting foreign countries to accept deportees with no ties to their new destinations.
“It's a perversion of the whole purpose of refugee assistance.”
— Jeremy Konyndyk, President of Refugees International · source -
background
Federal court rules third-country deportations violate due process — A federal court ruled that Trump's third-country deportation program unlawfully violates migrants' due process rights. The decision is expected to be appealed and likely reach the Supreme Court.
-
background
Leaked documents reveal program structure and human rights concerns — The Post's leaked documents showed the Office of Remigration places migrants in countries to which they have no previous connections and structures deals to skirt human rights safeguards typically built into U.S. foreign assistance. Contracts require minimal oversight of how money is spent or how migrants are treated, even when recipient countries are ruled by authoritarian regimes or have been flagged by the State Department itself for serious human rights abuses.
-
background
Washington Post investigation exposes Office of Remigration operations — A blockbuster Washington Post investigation, relying on leaked documents, revealed the existence and operations of the State Department's Office of Remigration. The agency, staffed by roughly 15 employees and operating under Stephen Miller's direction, has authorized or pledged over $400 million in payments to more than 30 countries to accept third-country deportees who cannot be returned to their countries of origin.