The US has deported thousands to third countries. This must stop | James A Goldston and Natasha Arnpriester

Monitors estimate 17,500 people have been sent to countries they may never have visited – and where they could face further danger José Yugar-Cruz spent 17 months in a county jail in Muscatine, Iowa, despite never having committed a crime. Originally from Bolivia, he entered the United States legally at the Arizona border in July 2024, affirmatively approached authorities, and requested asylum. Six months later, a US immigration judge found he had been tortured in Bolivia, would probably face torture again if returned, and barred his removal to his home country. The government did not appeal. Yugar-Cruz was not released for almost a year. Instead, ICE spent months searching unsuccessfully for somewhere else to send him. He finally won his release in December 2025. Continue reading...

James A Goldston and Natasha Arnpriester · Thu, May 28, 2026, 5:00 AM
US news | The Guardian

The US has deported thousands to third countries. This must stop | James A Goldston and Natasha Arnpriester

Monitors estimate 17,500 people have been sent to countries they may never have visited – and where they could face further danger

José Yugar-Cruz spent 17 months in a county jail in Muscatine, Iowa, despite never having committed a crime.

Originally from Bolivia, he entered the United States legally at the Arizona border in July 2024, affirmatively approached authorities, and requested asylum. Six months later, a US immigration judge found he had been tortured in Bolivia, would probably face torture again if returned, and barred his removal to his home country. The government did not appeal. Yugar-Cruz was not released for almost a year. Instead, ICE spent months searching unsuccessfully for somewhere else to send him. He finally won his release in December 2025.

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