Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: RWANDA received seven migrants deported from the United States earlier this month, a government spokesperson said in a statement on August 28, weeks after the two countries reached an agreement for the transfer of up to 250 people.
“The first group of seven vetted migrants arrived in Rwanda in mid-August,” Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said in a statement. U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a hardline approach toward immigration, aiming to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally and seeking to ramp up removals to third countries.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson referred questions on the deportations earlier this month to the government of Rwanda and declined to comment on details of diplomatic communications with other governments.
In early August, Rwanda and the United States entered an agreement for Rwanda to take in up to 250 migrants, with Washington sending to Rwanda an initial list of 10 people to be vetted. The Trump administration says that third-country deportations help quickly remove some migrants, including those with criminal convictions. Immigration hardliners see third-country removals as a way to deal with offenders who cannot easily be deported and could pose a threat to the public.
Opponents have criticized the deportations as dangerous and cruel, since people could be sent to countries where they could face violence, have no ties and do not speak the language. Under the agreement reached with Washington, migrants deported to Rwanda would be provided with workforce training, healthcare, and accommodation. Those deported to Rwanda were accompanied by an international organization.
