Orville Etoria, a 62-year-old Jamaican legal resident of the United States, has been deported to Eswatini after serving more than two decades in a New York prison for murder, sparking criticism over President Trump’s immigration policies and the use of third-country deportations.
Etoria was convicted in 1996 for fatally shooting a man in Brooklyn and sentenced to 25 years to life.
While in prison, he earned a bachelor’s degree, and after his release in 2021, he successfully completed parole, worked at a men’s shelter, and pursued a master’s degree in divinity.
Despite an existing deportation order from 2009, immigration officials had previously allowed him to remain in the U.S. under annual check-ins.
In July 2025, Etoria was deported under the Trump administration’s intensified crackdown.
Instead of being returned to Jamaica—where he holds citizenship—he was sent to Eswatini, a southern African country where he has no ties. U.S. officials justified the move by saying Etoria “should have been deported long ago,” while critics argue the policy amounts to indefinite detention in foreign prisons with questionable human rights records.
The U.S. has struck agreements with nations including Eswatini, El Salvador, and South Sudan to accept deportees for financial incentives, with Eswatini reportedly seeking up to half a billion dollars in exchange for accepting foreign deportees.
Etoria’s family and lawyers say he has not had access to legal counsel since arriving in Eswatini and remains imprisoned without charges.
Jamaican officials dispute U.S. claims that they refused to take him, affirming they “do not refuse nationals regardless of their crimes” and are working to have him returned.
The International Organization for Migration has also intervened, offering humanitarian support to Etoria and others deported under similar arrangements.
Etoria’s aunt, Margaret McKen, condemned the decision: “It’s inhumane. He paid the penalty for what he did. Why is he in prison again?” His relatives said he was rebuilding his life, reconnecting with his children, and “finally becoming human again” before his abrupt detention and deportation.
Etoria’s case highlights growing concerns about third-country deportations—sending immigrants not to their homelands but to unfamiliar countries where they may face indefinite imprisonment.
Legal experts warn that such policies undermine due process and create human rights risks, while the Trump administration insists it is a necessary tool to remove dangerous offenders.