“Inhuman, were in handcuffs, chains…” Brazilian deportees from US recall horrors of deportation

Feb 09, 2025

In a recent development to Trump’s immigration crackdown, deportees from the United States landed in Brazil on February 7. This marks the second deportation flight to the South American nation since President Donald Trump took office. The flight from Louisiana arrived in Fortaleza with 111 deportees, with 95 later transferred to Confins in the state of Minas Gerais by Brazilian Air Force. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government has been working to address human rights issues linked to migrant repatriation. After landing the deportees described the horror of the deportation process and described it as ‘inhuman’. “My feet were cuffed to my belly and I was chained…” these were the words uttered by a Brazilian Deportee. Earlier, Brazil had summoned a US diplomat to discuss deportation process after condemning the use of handcuffs on deportees during first flight