The Trump administration hoped to deport Kyaw Mya, a child rapist, to his home country of Myanmar, but faced pushback from the Southeast Asian country, which ultimately refused to take him back.
Mya was convicted after he repeatedly raped a child over a six-year period that began when the victim was just seven years old. An immigration judge also ordered his deportation, which was held up by his home country’s defiance.
Ultimately, the Trump administration used its key third-country removal tool to ship Mya off to South Sudan in July of last year.
Our Daily Deportee series highlights the profound public safety impact of failing to conduct third country removals. Today’s Daily Deportee is Kyaw Mya, a citizen of Myanmar and child rapist. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/7UD2w0relb
— James Percival (@DHSGenCounsel) September 25, 2026
“Faced with a choice of releasing Mr. Mya or removing him to a third country, DHS [the Department of Homeland Security] chose to remove him to South Sudan. Before President Trump came along, aliens like Mr. Mya were released back into the community to victimize anew,” James Percival, DHS general counsel, said in an X post Friday.
Third country deportations have since come to a screeching halt after legal challenges emerged and a federal judge ruled last week that the policy violates deportees’ rights to due process.
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to clear the way for third country removals after an appeals court upheld the federal judge’s ruling that struck down the policy.
In a statement shared with The Daily Wire, a DHS spokesperson argued that the deportation policy is necessary for ensuring public safety.
“Third country removals are an essential public safety tool that remove the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens from our streets,” the spokesperson said. “Additionally, if an illegal alien chooses to file a claim in court refusing to go to their home country, they should not be surprised when we find a safe and secure nation for them to go to.”
“The First Circuit’s sudden decision to prevent these removals, especially given DHS’s two previous victories in the Supreme Court, is as reckless as it is lawless,” they added.
The Trump administration has deported more than 25,000 migrants to third countries, according to The Washington Post.
One country that has agreed to accept foreign deportees from the United States is Liberia. In a recent CBS News report, migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela who were sent to Monrovia, Liberia, spoke about their deportation experiences.
“Honestly, I had never heard of Liberia,” one Colombian deportee told the outlet.
“I’m concerned. I feel far away, on the other side of the world,” a Honduran deportee said.
The Trump administration has set aside at least $410 million for agreements with 31 countries to accept third-country nationals, according to The Washington Post.
The list of willing countries includes Costa Rica, Eswatini, and Equatorial Guinea, along with other African and South American nations.
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