Uzbekistan Agrees to Pay for US Deportation of 131 Illegal Immigrants

Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem saluted Uzbekistan’s president for taking in the illegal immigrants, who are from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks at the Border Security Expo at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix on April 8, 2025. Rebecca Noble/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The United States has deported 131 illegal immigrants to Uzbekistan as part of an agreement between the two countries, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said April 30.

Uzbekistan fully funded the deportation of people from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan who are in the United States illegally.

“We commend Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for his leadership in sending a flight to return 131 illegal aliens back to their home country,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work together with Uzbekistan on efforts to enhance our mutual security and uphold the rule of law.”

The partnership with Uzbekistan marked the latest agreement with foreign countries negotiated by the administration. The operation is part of a broader federal crackdown on illegal immigration under President Donald Trump.

Citing examples of successful partnerships, DHS noted that Trump persuaded Colombia to begin accepting illegal immigrants removed from the United States.

The president also developed a partnership with El Salvador to imprison illegal immigrants who are suspected or confirmed gang members, a deal that involved the United States paying the country $6 million to hold them for one year in the country’s maximum security prison. DHS has so far deported nearly 300 foreigners it identified as associated with Tren de Aragua and MS-13, which are U.S.-designated terrorist groups, to El Salvador.

Trump also struck a deal with Mexico to fight drug cartels, the DHS said. The partnership led to the arrests of more than 6,000 drug traffickers.

According to the DHS, the current administration has carried out more than 142,000 deportations so far. Daily border encounters have plunged 95 percent since Trump took office.

“These are just some of the successful efforts that reflect President Trump’s vision for strong diplomatic cooperation and a restored immigration system, ensuring that illegal aliens are returned to their countries of origin. We are just getting started,” the agency stated.

The deportations have been challenged in court.

A federal judge on April 30 limited Trump’s ability to swiftly deport illegal immigrants held at Guantanamo Bay. The judge ordered the administration to ensure illegal immigrants held at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba are given the opportunity to raise any concerns about their safety before sending them to El Salvador or other countries they aren’t from. The judge’s order comes after immigrant rights advocates argued Trump violated his court order when the Defense Department put four Venezuelans who were held at Guantanamo on a flight to El Salvador.

Democrats have criticized Trump’s deportations.

In one high-profile case, a handful of Democratic lawmakers took a trip to El Salvador to call for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who they said was wrongfully deported in violation of a court order protecting him from being sent back to his home country.

The DHS maintained that the Salvadoran national was in the United States illegally before his deportation and was an MS-13 gang member. Abrego Garcia was also involved in suspected human trafficking, and accused of domestic abuse, according to the agency.

In early April, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has publicly said that he won’t send him back.

From NTD News