Deported and Disconnected: Zimbabweans Return from US

Seven Zimbabwean men deported from the US land in Harare (image source)

Seven Zimbabwean men deported from the United States arrived in Harare last week, reigniting debate over migrant reintegration and the fragile link between the diaspora and the home economy. The chartered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flight touched down at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on September 19, carrying nationals who had completed prison sentences in America before being deemed “inadmissible.”

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, more than 250 Zimbabweans were issued removal orders between 2023 and mid-2025, highlighting a growing trend of deportations tied to criminal records.

One returnee, Tendai Moyosvi, who spent a decade in a Pennsylvania prison for aggravated assault, said he would use his culinary training to open a small restaurant in Mbare. “I lost ten years, but I still have my skills,” Moyosvi said.

By contrast, 30-year-old George Mabugu, who grew up in Pennsylvania from the age of nine, admitted he felt alien in Harare. “I cannot speak Shona anymore. I feel like a stranger in my own country,” he said. Without language fluency or family networks, many deportees face social isolation and joblessness.

The stakes extend beyond individual hardships. Diaspora remittances remain critical to Zimbabwe’s economy: in February 2025 alone, inflows reached US$165 million — 17% of all foreign-currency receipts, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Forced returns threaten to fracture this vital lifeline. Migration expert Dr. Nyasha Chikowore of the University of Zimbabwe urged a formal reintegration framework. “Zimbabwe must anticipate the return of its citizens. Without language support, vocational training, and psychosocial services, deportees risk sliding into poverty or illicit activities.”

Zimbabwe has faced similar strains before. In 2017, more than 1,500 asylum seekers were repatriated from South Africa in just six months, forcing emergency interventions in housing and welfare.

Today, with further deportation flights scheduled before year-end, the ministries of Home Affairs, Public Service, and Social Welfare — alongside NGOs — face mounting pressure to coordinate a national response.

“I was raised in Pennsylvania; I forgot everything,” Mabugu repeated as he stepped onto Harare soil, underscoring the cultural rupture that many deportees now confront.