A 28‑year‑old Turkish woman, known only as Aylin, was flown to the Central African Republic after a U.S. immigration judge granted her withholding of removal but denied her asylum request under a Biden‑era policy that limited eligibility for migrants entering through the southern border outside official routes.
The policy, which had been struck down by a federal judge, has nonetheless been carried out under agreements with 35 nations, DHS officials say, citing due process protections for those removed.
Aylin spent 18 months in U.S. detention, was shackled, and learned mid‑flight that she was heading to a country she had never heard of. She told CNN, "I just hoped to be free, to live my life how I want to live, to have friends, a relationship, a good family."
Other queer migrants have faced similar fates: 21‑year‑old Ghanaian Adwoa was sent to Cameroon after a U.S. court blocked her deportation to Ghana, where same‑sex relations carry up to five years in prison. Bridget Crawford of Immigration Equality called the practice "unconscionable."
A federal appeals court this month upheld a ruling that parts of the third‑country deportation policy are unlawful, and the dispute could ultimately reach the Supreme Court. Aylin has since returned to Turkey, where she claims her orientation has changed, but she remains uncertain about her future.