Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee allege in a report released Friday that President Donald Trump's administration spent more than $40 million in 2025 to send hundreds of migrants to at least two dozen countries that were not their home nations.
The 35-page analysis says the administration relied on financial incentives and other arrangements to widen what are often called "third country" removals, moving them beyond rare, exceptional uses and into a regular tool of immigration enforcement and diplomacy.
The report estimates more than $32 million in direct payments to five countries — El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Eswatini, and Palau — and more than $7 million for deportation flights tied to a broader list of destinations that includes South Sudan, Ghana, Panama, and Uganda.
"The Administration has pursued these arrangements through opaque negotiations, including with corrupt governments, without meaningful oversight or accountability," the report states in the executive summary.
"Tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds have been sent to foreign governments, yet Congress and the public have few details on the terms of these deals, how funds are being used or what the United States is offering in return," it adds.
Democratic staff said lump-sum payments were sometimes provided before any third-country nationals arrived, and the report cited the use of military aircraft that can cost more than $32,000 per hour for some flights, including missions carrying only small numbers of people.
"This report outlines the troubling practice by the Trump Administration of deporting individuals to third countries — places where these people have no connection — at great expense to the American taxpayer and raises serious questions," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the panel's ranking member, said in a statement.
"Through its third country deportation deals, the Trump Administration is putting millions of taxpayer dollars into the hands of foreign governments, while turning a blind eye to the human costs and potentially undermining our diplomatic relationships," she added.
"For an Administration that claims to be reigning in fraud, waste and abuse, this policy is the epitome of all three."
The administration's approach has faced legal challenges tied to removals of Venezuelan migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used 1798 law that Trump invoked last spring as the administration alleged some deportees were tied to the Tren de Aragua gang.
About 250 Venezuelan migrants were sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador under that policy and were later transferred to Venezuela in a prisoner swap, according to court accounts and prior reporting on the removals.
On Thursday, Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg ruled that some deportees must be returned to the United States while they challenge their removals, requiring the government to facilitate return and cover travel for eligible hearings as the Justice Department appeals.
"It is worth emphasizing that this situation would never have arisen had the Government simply afforded Plaintiffs their constitutional rights before initially deporting them," Boasberg wrote.
The committee staff report says its findings reflect a months-long review of agreements and removals through January 2026, as Democrats press for more disclosure about costs, oversight and the administration's negotiations with receiving governments.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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