Bureaucratic Blindspot: The Deportation of Stateless Bhutanese

Abstract

In 2017, one of the largest global refugee resettlement programs concluded with approximately 85,000 stateless Bhutanese resettled legally in the United States. By 2025, newspapers began reporting that some of these resettled refugees were being deported. This article analyses the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) data from September 2023 to mid-October 2025 to map the patterns of arrests and deportation of stateless Bhutanese refugees. Because “stateless” is not a category of nationality in the DHS dataset, the article develops a methodology to determine if a stateless Bhutanese is moving through the deportation process. The stateless Bhutanese provide a significant case study regarding the deportation of stateless people who are in the country legally. The paper recommends that the United States should improve the identification of stateless refugees in order to ensure it can make more informed decisions regarding their potential deportation. The study finds that refugees from Bhutan are not clearly identified as “stateless” in the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dataset covering the period of September 2023-October 2025. In addition: - The monthly average of arrests between 2024 and 2025 suggests a 500 percent increase in arrests of the Bhutanese. - The location where ICE takes custody of Bhutanese has shifted from primarily state prisons to local jails and non-custodial arrests. These apprehensions are frequently through ICE’s Fugitive Operations Program. - The removal of Bhutanese refugees occurred for a variety of offenses, ranging from serious offenses against persons to minor property offenses.

The paper recommends that the category of “stateless” be added to DHS intake forms. Previously, guidance to determine and respond if someone was stateless was provided to decision makers in the DHS under Section K of their policy manual. That section of the manual has been removed or is no longer publicly available as of June 2025. This article recommends that it be restored. Training of officers evaluating cases, including how to weigh different types of evidence and the use of detailed country information on potential stateless populations, will be necessary to support accurate categorization. These steps will help reduce the risk that the United States breaches its obligations under international law, including under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by deporting stateless refugees to countries where they will be at risk of serious harm.