More than 25,000 migrants have been sent since January 2025 to countries where they hold no citizenship and often no prior connection, under a strategy the State Department built largely out of public view. A Washington Post investigation published Sept. 21 traces at least $410 million in government spending behind the effort, funneled through a small office most Americans have never heard of. The disclosure lands three days after a federal appeals court found the government's method for carrying out these removals unlawful, adding fresh uncertainty for Venezuelan and Cuban applicants whose other paths to legal status have been narrowing all year.
