ICE Charter to Equatorial Guinea to Expel 25, Not Return Jailed Man

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) charter flight is scheduled to land in Equatorial Guinea on Thursday, two weeks after a federal judge ordered the United States to bring back a man imprisoned there — but documents show the stop is meant to expel more people to the country, not to collect him.

The documents, obtained by reporters, list 25 people expected to be expelled at the Equatorial Guinea stop. The man a judge ordered returned, 31-year-old Egyptian national Ahmed Soliman, is being held in the island city of Malabo.

Key facts

• A Boeing 767 operated by ICE charter carrier Eastern Airlines is due to leave the United States on Thursday.
• Planned stops: Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Burundi and the Central African Republic.
• Expected expulsions: 25 in Equatorial Guinea, 30 in Burundi, 100 in the Central African Republic.
• If carried out, it would be the largest third-country removal trip to the African continent to date.
• A federal judge has ordered the government to facilitate Soliman's return to the United States.

Where is the flight going?

The aircraft will stop first in Senegal, which ICE-chartered planes often use for refuelling and crew changes, according to the documents. The other three stops — Equatorial Guinea, Burundi and the Central African Republic — are all described as "host" countries in the administration's third-country removal network.

Why is the flight not collecting the man a judge ordered returned?

A later document confirms the Equatorial Guinea stop is intended to expel more immigrants to the country rather than to retrieve Soliman. Arizona District Court Judge John C. Hinderaker, a Trump appointee, ordered the government earlier this month to facilitate Soliman's return, ruling that his right to due process was violated when he was forced onto an ICE charter flight in April and expelled to Equatorial Guinea.

Late on Monday, Justice Department attorneys said the government intended to appeal. In a filing the same day, the government said for the second time that it was still trying to confirm Soliman's exact location, while stating it was coordinating return efforts with the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). U.S. Attorney for Arizona Timothy Courchaine is working to streamline communication with Soliman's attorneys and ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, the filing said.

Soliman's attorneys said they had repeatedly sent the government updates on his location and had never received a response, and that messages to the U.S. ambassador to Equatorial Guinea also went unanswered. ICE, DHS and the State Department did not immediately reply to questions about the flight and whether Soliman would be put on it.

What is his condition?

Soliman was hospitalised in Malabo over the weekend after becoming seriously ill, his attorneys said in a Tuesday court filing. He has since been returned to the Hotel Bamy, where dozens of other third-country nationals are being imprisoned, although his condition has not improved. The filing also said he has untreated injuries from a car accident that occurred weeks ago while he was being transported from a local jail to the hotel.

Attorney Dana Camilleri said the planned stop shows the government can bring Soliman home, and should do so immediately. She also warned that others could be removed in his place and indefinitely detained at the Hotel Bamy.

What is known about removals to Equatorial Guinea?

At least 63 third-country nationals have been sent to Equatorial Guinea since last November on at least six ICE-chartered flights, and have reported being beaten, threatened, held at gunpoint and deprived of food, water, hygiene products and medical care. All are believed to have had legal protections barring deportation to their home countries, yet about half have been forced back to those countries anyway — a practice known as chain refoulement that is barred under U.S. and international law.

Flight data shows at least four ICE-chartered aircraft flew within a few hundred miles of Equatorial Guinea eight times since 8 October, including one Eastern Airlines flight that passed within about 15 miles of Malabo on 13 October. Soliman came to the United States as a young child and was raised in Arizona; he lost his lawful permanent resident status after a 2021 conviction relating to an accident he caused while driving under the influence of drugs. An immigration judge had previously ruled he could not be deported to Egypt because he was likely to face harm due to his family's political affiliation and because he is gay.

The government's appeal intention means the question of Soliman's return remains unresolved, while Thursday's flight is expected to bring more people to Equatorial Guinea.