An investigation by the consortium coordinated by Forbidden Stories has obtained a copy of the agreement under which Eswatini takes in deportees from the United States, according to France 24, which is part of the consortium.

The document, signed on 14 May 2025 by Prime Minister Russell Dlamini, provides for the kingdom to receive 160 people removed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in exchange for $5.1 million to “reinforce border and migrant migration capacity”. Four planes have brought 32 deportees to the kingdom over a year; they are held without charge at the Matsapha maximum-security prison, and only five have returned to their home countries.