US deports migrants to another African state
Rwanda has received seven migrants deported from the US under a new bilateral agreement that could see the East African nation host hundreds of people Washington has declared ineligible to remain on its soil.
The first group arrived in Kigali in mid-August, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said in a statement on Thursday. They are receiving accommodation, healthcare, and training support, with assistance from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and local services, she added.
“Three of the individuals have expressed a desire to return to their home countries, while four wish to stay and build lives in Rwanda,” Makolo said, without disclosing their nationalities.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has pursued third-country resettlement agreements to deport asylum seekers as part of a wider crackdown on illegal immigration, despite criticism and protests.
Washington reportedly reached a deal with Kigali in June for the landlocked country to take up to 250 deportees whose home states refused to receive them. Makolo noted that Rwanda’s decision was informed by its own history with the “hardship of displacement,” adding that each individual proposed for relocation would be vetted and approved by the government.
The development makes Rwanda the latest African country to receive deportees under the Trump administration’s removal agreements, following a US Supreme Court ruling that permitted the transfers. The Department of Homeland Security has already deported five people it described as “barbaric criminals” to Eswatini, and eight others to South Sudan. Uganda has also reportedly agreed to a deal with Washington to host migrants, provided they have no criminal records.
Kigali previously reached a controversial pact with Britain in 2022 to receive thousands of undocumented migrants from the UK – a scheme that was scrapped last year by the new British government. The UK had paid Rwanda £240 million (about $305 million) and built facilities to house the asylum seekers.
While it remains unclear whether the latest arrangement with Washington includes a financial component, a Rwandan official said earlier this month that Kigali will receive a grant from the US in return, without disclosing the amount.
