"Refugees or asylum seekers registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are among those unlawfully deported or arbitrarily detained pending deportation," noted a February 16 Amnesty International press release. It stressed that many of them are Sudanese nationals and that they have essentially been forced into hiding.

"In recent months, the Egyptian authorities renewed their campaign of arbitrarily detaining and unlawfully deporting refugees and asylum seekers solely based on their irregular immigration status in blatant violation of the principle of non-refoulement and Egypt's own asylum law," it noted.

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Arbitrary refugee round-ups since December 2025

Eyewitness accounts detail the mistreatment of refugees in detention centers. "Since late December 2025, police officers in plain clothes have been arbitrarily rounding up nationals of Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, and other Sub-Saharan countries from the streets or their workplaces in cities across the country following identity checks. Those found without valid residency permits were driven away in unmarked vans, even when they were able to produce UNHCR cards," the press release stated.

'International law and asylum law violated'

"Refugees who have fled war, persecution, or humanitarian crises should not be forced to live in daily fear of being arbitrarily arrested and deported back to a place where they are at risk of grave human rights violations. By forcibly expelling refugees and asylum seekers, Egyptian authorities are not only flagrantly flouting international human rights and refugee law, but they are also breaching the protections afforded in the country's own recently passed asylum law prohibiting refoulement of recognized refugees," said Mahmoud Shalaby, Egypt and Libya Researcher at Amnesty International.

The international NGO Caritas has said that about 10 million people have fled to Egypt due to wars and famine, and that over 70 percent of them are Sudanese nationals.

"The principle of non-refoulement prohibits states from sending anyone to a place where they would be at real risk of serious human rights violations. Even Egypt's flawed asylum law prohibits the extradition of 'recognized refugees' to their country of origin or habitual residence, even though other provisions implicitly permit exceptions under the guise of overly vague 'national security and public order' grounds without due process safeguards," Amnesty International stressed.

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Sudanese stop work, kids stop going to school

"The crackdown has had devastating consequences for refugee families, particularly affecting their rights to education and work. Three families, all registered with UNHCR, told Amnesty International they had stopped sending their children to school or university for fear of arrest because they currently do not have valid residence permits," the press release noted.

"Some refugees and asylum seekers have stopped or limited their work to minimize the risk of arrest," it added.

"Ahmed, a 26-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker registered with UNHCR, previously worked as a teacher at three schools. He resigned from two and now works at one school close to his home, in an effort to minimize journeys outside his home as his residence permit had expired, and his renewal appointment was scheduled for 2028."

"The EU and other states must also step up responsibility-sharing by expanding resettlement opportunities and creating safe and regular pathways for people in need of international protection, including humanitarian visas, labour and student mobility schemes, and community sponsorship initiatives," Shalaby added.

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