Phone Chomsavanh released from Eswatini prison after US deportation

Phone Chomsavanh, a Laotian citizen who spent more than 14 months in an Eswatini maximum-security prison after being deported by the United States, was released on Sunday.

Release from Matsapha Correctional Complex

Chomsavanh was held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex near Mbabane, the administrative capital of Eswatini, since his arrival on a military cargo plane in July 2025. His U.S.-based lawyer, Tin Thanh Nguyen, stated that Chomsavanh had already served his criminal sentence in the United States before his transfer. Nguyen noted that his client was held in the Eswatini prison for over a year without being charged with any new crime.

He had already served his time. Instead they put him on a plane without telling him where it was headed and left him in a prison in a country he had never heard of, where nobody ever accused him of anything. He sat there for more than a year. No notice, no hearing, no chance to object. That is not due process by any definition.

Tin Thanh Nguyen, U.S.-based lawyer for Phone Chomsavanh

According to the Associated Press, Chomsavanh has since left Eswatini and landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, as he transits on his way to Laos. An Eswatini government spokesperson did not immediately acknowledge the release. Chomsavanh was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and moved to the United States at age 7.

Third-country deportation program details

The program under which Chomsavanh was deported has involved approximately 500 immigrants being sent to African nations that are not their countries of origin, according to data from Human Rights First and Refugees International. Eswatini, an absolute monarchy, entered an agreement with the Trump administration to accept deportees in exchange for $5.1 million in payments. The nation has received roughly 30 individuals through this arrangement to date.

The U.S. government has defended the policy as a mechanism to remove individuals with final deportation orders when their home countries are unwilling to accept them immediately. However, the program has faced significant scrutiny regarding transparency and the conditions under which deportees are held in third-party countries.

Pending Supreme Court arguments

Legal challenges to the deportation program are ongoing. Last month, a U.S. appeals court upheld a ruling to halt the program, citing concerns that it denied immigrants the opportunity to challenge their removal based on fears of persecution or torture. The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order last week allowing the administration to continue the deportations on a temporary basis while the case proceeds. The court is scheduled to hear arguments regarding the legality of the program in December.