The Legal Aid Society is celebrating the release of Orville Etoria, a Jamaican national and former U.S. lawful permanent resident, who had been unlawfully detained for over two months in an Eswatini prison without any charge after being illegally deported by the United States to Africa. Mr. Etoria was arbitrarily detained in a maximum-security prison without access to counsel, a grave injustice that underscores the dangers of the U.S. government’s continued third-country deportations.

“We are relieved that Mr. Etoria is finally free after enduring over two months of unlawful imprisonment in Eswatini without access to counsel,” said Mia Unger, an attorney in the Immigrant Justice Team at Legal Aid, retained by Mr. Etoria’s family. “His illegal deportation to Eswatini should never have happened when he was in possession of a valid Jamaican passport.”

“His incarceration in a maximum-security prison without charge coupled with intentional efforts to prevent him from accessing legal counsel over the past several weeks are deeply troubling,” she continued. “Mr. Etoria now begins the difficult process of readjusting to life in his country of birth, Jamaica, after nearly five decades living in the United States.”

Legal Aid strongly opposes the U.S. government’s policy of deporting individuals to third countries—a practice that too often results in unlawful detention, family separation, and grave violations of fundamental human rights and demands answers from the U.S. government as to why Mr. Etoria was sent to Eswatini.

Four other men were deported from the United States alongside Mr. Etoria. Legal Aid is demanding their immediate access to counsel, release, and that Eswatini work with the relevant authorities towards their repatriation or relocation in accordance with their human rights.