Six Refuse ICE Deportation Flight—Now Stranded in Equatorial Guinea

In a first-of-its-kind case, six people who refused to leave a US deportation plane are now being held in Equatorial Guinea, a country they were never meant to enter. The flight, which took off in late August, carried around 20 people shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles. Their destination was Liberia, part of a major third-country deportation deal under President Donald Trump’s second term. So far, US authorities have sent more than 23,000 people to 26 countries other than their own since last year. But this flight marked a new development: when the six refused to disembark in Liberia, the plane continued to Equatorial Guinea—a fourth country. Lawyers for the six say they are now facing “horrific conditions” in Equatorial Guinea. The case is believed to be the first US deportation to that country. The six remain in legal limbo, with no clear path forward. Their refusal has turned a routine deportation into an international standoff.