Lawfare and SITU Research released an investigative film on Tuesday examining US third-country deportations, including the flight network and financial agreements with governments accepting migrants.
Produced in partnership with The Intercept, the second chapter of “Deportation, Inc.: The Rise of the Immigration Enforcement Economy” examines transport between detention facilities and overseas destinations.
Lawfare managing editor Tyler McBrien wrote in The Intercept that the Department of Homeland Security had deported more than 25,000 people to third countries.
He described these as destinations where the migrants had no previous connections. McBrien put the number of countries covered by removal agreements at at least 35.
According to his account, receiving governments accept Migrants in exchange for aid or other financial compensation.
Read: UK Immigration Rules Add Suspended Terms to Deportation
However, many details of those arrangements remain outside public view. A Senate Foreign Relations Committee minority report quoted an unnamed
Trump administration official describing deterrence as a purpose of the policy. “The point is to scare people,” the official said.
Separately, Lawfare has sued the Department of State in federal court in Washington, D.C., over its failure to disclose international agreements. The publication argues that the nondisclosure violates the Case-Zablocki Act.
Read: Trump vows new merit-based US immigration system
The wider video series examines private contractors and financial incentives across immigration detention, deportation and surveillance. Its producers argue that private profit increasingly influences enforcement priorities.
While the latest chapter focuses on removals, the first instalment, released in December 2025, examined privately operated migrant detention facilities.
