Congress Must Prevent Deportations That Lead To Torture Or Death

US MUST NOT DEPORT PEOPLE INTO SITUATIONS WITH FORESEEABLE IMPRISONMENT, TORTURE, OR DEATH As your constituent I urge Congress to ensure that DHS and ICE strictly comply with existing U.S. law before deporting or transferring any individual to a country where imprisonment, torture, or lethal violence is a foreseeable outcome - including Uganda. This has particular relevance with respect to LGBTQ+ individuals. It is not about creating new LGBTQ+ rights. It is about enforcing existing law so agencies do not use procedural shortcuts that result in removals to countries where severe abuse is well-documented. Without clear guardrails and oversight, current practices risk drastic results that nullify legal protections and expose people to irreversible harm. This concern is urgent because recent policy changes have expanded third-country transfers while penalties for LGBTQ+ people in some destination countries have sharply escalated. DEPORTATION TO HIGH-RISK COUNTRIES RESULTS IN CONCRETE AND PREDICTABLE HARM In countries that criminalize LGBTQ+ identity or same-sex relationships, deportation commonly results in arrest, detention, physical abuse, sexual violence in custody, denial of medical care, and exposure to vigilante violence tolerated by authorities. UGANDA PRESENTS AN EXTREME AND WELL-DOCUMENTED DANGER IN LIGHT OF U.S. POLICY The United States has entered into a memorandum of cooperation with Uganda concerning third-country protection processing, allowing individuals seeking protection to be transferred to a third country rather than having their claims adjudicated in the United States at a moment when Uganda has intensified criminal penalties targeting LGBTQ+ people. Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act mandates life imprisonment for consensual same-sex relationships and authorizes the death penalty for offenses labeled “aggravated homosexuality.” Reporting documents arrests based on accusation alone, abuse in detention, police extortion, and violent public attacks against LGBTQ+ people with little or no state protection. PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY BEEN KILLED, ABUSED, OR NEARLY REMOVED INTO DANGER Credible reporting confirms that some LGBTQ+ individuals deported by the United States have been killed or severely abused after removal, while others have narrowly avoided deportation to countries where imprisonment or torture is foreseeable. Reuters documented the killing of transgender woman Camila Díaz Córdova shortly after her deportation to El Salvador despite advance warnings of danger. The full extent of harm remains unknown due to the absence of systematic post-removal tracking. “CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE” PROTECTION EXISTS TO PREVENT EXACTLY THIS OUTCOME U.S. law implements the Convention Against Torture (CAT) to prohibit removal when it is more likely than not that a person will be tortured by a government or with its consent or acquiescence. The problem is not the absence of legal protections, but the erosion of procedures meant to activate them before removal occurs. In practice, CAT protections are weakened by accelerated procedures, lack of counsel, and third-country transfers that truncate adjudication, prompting judicial intervention where individuals were denied meaningful opportunities to raise CAT claims. Because CAT protections are mandatory under U.S. law yet are failing in execution, Congressional oversight and enforceable guardrails are required to prevent irreversible harm. CONGRESS MUST TAKE SPECIFIC AND IMMEDIATE ACTION Congress has both the authority and the obligation to ensure that executive enforcement complies with binding law. (1) Require briefings on third-country transfer agreements, removals to countries that criminalize LGBTQ+ people, and the handling of CAT claims. (2) Condition removal-related funding on compliance with CAT procedures, advance notice of destination, access to counsel, and completed adjudication before any transfer or removal. (3) Require records on removals carried out without counsel or involving countries such as Uganda. These steps would not create new rights. They would ensure that existing law is enforced consistently and before irreversible harm occurs.