Migrants deported from the United States are being held against their will at the Bamy hotel in Equatorial Guinea, a luxury resort turned into a detention centre under a $7.5 million deal with the Trump administration. The hotel, owned by the family of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has become a way station for asylum seekers who were previously granted protection by US judges.
Since November, at least 32 people have been imprisoned at the hotel, according to their lawyers. Of these, 25 have been forced to return to their home countries across Africa, where they face potential danger. The remaining individuals are under pressure from authorities to leave. A 26-year-old man from an east African country, speaking on condition of anonymity, said government officials repeatedly demanded his passport and insisted he return to his own country.
Immigration lawyers describe the use of deportations to third countries as a legal loophole, allowing the US to indirectly force asylum seekers back to their home countries. The Trump administration has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own, often under secret agreements, as part of a broader crackdown on immigration.
Human rights experts at the United Nations issued a rare public appeal to Equatorial Guinea, urging it to halt plans to return deportees to countries where they face political violence, torture, or death. The statement, co-signed by a representative of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, calls on the regime to comply with international human rights standards and avoid refoulement.
Trapped in a country many had never heard of, migrants from Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Mauritania wander the hotel's corridors and gaze at a pool they are not allowed to use. While they have not faced physical abuse, they experience intense psychological pressure, knowing they are likely to be sent back to home countries they fear. The US State Department declined to comment on the deal, stating only a commitment to end illegal immigration.
