A federal judge in Baton Rouge on Wednesday questioned whether federal agents violated an Ethiopian man鈥檚 due process rights when they tried to deport him to the African nation of Eswatini in early March, after the judge had previously ordered him freed from
As the hearing began, immigration attorneys for Ibrahim Mohammed, 43, told U.S. District Judge John deGravelles that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had informed their client hours earlier that they were shifting gears.
Instead of Eswatini, Mohammed 鈥斅爓ho entered the U.S. legally in 2014 and earned asylum, but was later imprisoned in Maryland for child sexual abuse 鈥斅爓ould be going to a different, but similarly tiny, African country, the ICE agents told him: Equatorial Guinea.
The five-hour hearing offered a rare glimpse into the U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security鈥檚 maneuvering agreements with the two African nations.
The practice of sending deportees to places other than their nations of origin made headlines last year when hundreds of Venezuelans were sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador. But the use of 鈥渢hird countries鈥 has since remained a plank of the aggressive deportation strategy being pursued by President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration, with DHS increasingly turning to small, remote as partners.
Some foreign governments have inked lucrative deals.
鈥淭he court knew nothing about Eswatini prior to this hearing. I had to look it up,鈥 deGravelles told attorneys from the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office in Baton Rouge. 鈥淚 know less about Equatorial Guinea than I do about Eswatini. This court has had all of two minutes to consider that. I am not going to be ruling on this today, I promise you.鈥
In limbo
Mohammed and his attorneys, of the and groups, described him living in a limbo faced by many immigrant detainees from countries where the U.S. does not frequently deport people.
Mohammed, a member of the minority Amhara ethnic group, has been in and out of ICE custody since 2023, when he was released from a Maryland state prison. ICE swiftly re-arrested him on a final removal order a judge issued due to his criminal history; but the agency granted him supervised release in 2024. They described him as non-violent, said he presented no flight risk and came from a country without a viable route for deportation, court records show.
Mohammed was detained again last year under what a Maryland ICE official described Wednesday as a targeted effort to deport sex offenders.
He was freed again on a Feb. 6 order from deGravelles, in which the judge noted officials鈥 prior determination that he did not pose a threat if approved for supervised release. DeGravelles chided ICE in the order for claiming an attempt to swiftly deport Mohammed even as he languished in custody at Angola鈥檚 .鈥
On March 10, his attorneys got a 20-second call from an ICE facility in Arizona. ICE had once again detained Mohammed and had booked a flight to deport him to Eswatini, his attorneys said.
DeGravelles granted a temporary restraining order and called the hearing to weigh whether Mohammed鈥檚 due process rights were violated.
Secretive program
DeGravelles on Wednesday also questioned ICE and the Justice Department attorneys about concerns that sending Mohammed to Eswatini or Equatorial Guinea could lead to him being sent back to Ethiopia, where the U.S. government has determined he would likely be tortured.
Only a few dozen people have been deported to Eswatini and Equatorial Guinea under the current Trump administration. The countries are among at least seven African nations to strike secretive deals with the administration, drawing condemnation from rights groups and immigration attorneys over concerns about detention conditions under the nations鈥 authoritarian leadership.
During his latest detention, Mohammed testified through an interpreter, ICE agents did not mention Eswatini or provide him with documents they were required to serve him confirming the agency鈥檚 plan to deport him there.
Mohammed first learned he faced deportation to Eswatini in a court-ordered call with his attorneys.
鈥淚鈥檓 really afraid of going there,鈥 he said, noting reports that immigration detainees have been jailed upon arrival there.
The Department of Homeland Security says it uses third country agreements to deport dangerous criminals 鈥 a group of which it considers Mohammed a part, according to a February DHS press release lambasting deGravelles鈥 initial order for Mohammed鈥檚 release.
鈥淛udge John deGravelles, appointed by Barack Obama, released four violent criminals back onto American communities, and unfortunately, the ramifications will only be the continued rape, murder, assault, and robbery of more American victims,鈥 said then-Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. 鈥淩eleasing these monsters is inexcusably reckless.鈥
DeGravelles from the bench on Wednesday said politics played no role in his jurisprudence.
鈥楿nusual sort of witness鈥
Vernon L. Liggins, a senior ICE official in Maryland who signed paperwork approving Mohammed鈥檚 deportation to Eswatini, said State Department officials told ICE in early March that Eswatini had agreed to take him. Liggins signed the papers 鈥渂ecause he has a final order of removal and is a convicted sex offender,鈥 he testified Wednesday over Zoom.
Liggins acknowledged that Mohammed would face torture if returned to Ethiopia. Asked about press reports that third countries, including Eswatini, have repatriated some deportees to their home nations, Liggins said he was unaware of particulars of the State Department鈥檚 deal.
ICE agents arrested Mohammed and flew him March 9 to Arizona after he was jailed in Maryland for violating parole. His attorneys said the violations stemmed from him being unable to check in with his parole officer while in immigration detention at Angola.
An ICE deportation officer, Jose Gonzalez, repeatedly testified that he tried to serve Mohammed paperwork detailing the government鈥檚 intent to deport him, but that Mohammed 鈥渞efused to engage with me.鈥 Gonzalez acknowledged he had not given Mohammed copies of the documents and said he could not recall most details of their conversation.
DeGravelles called the agent an 鈥渦nusual sort of witness.鈥
Now, Mohammed is being held in the ICE-contracted River Correctional Center in Ferriday pending the new litigation. ICE agents told him he would be to Equatorial Guinea minutes before making the four-hour drive to Baton Rouge for Wednesday鈥檚 hearing, he testified.
The Justice Department attorneys did not provide reasons for why the government has pivoted to trying to deport Mohammed to Equatorial Guinea rather than Eswatini.
A ruling from deGravelles is pending.