African state in talks to host migrants deported from US
Rwanda has entered negotiations with Washington to receive migrants deported from the United States, the East African country’s foreign minister said on Sunday. The development comes months after a controversial asylum agreement between Kigali and the UK collapsed.
In an interview with state broadcaster Rwanda TV, Olivier Nduhungirehe said talks with the US government were at an early stage.
“We are in discussions with the United States… It has not yet reached a stage where we can say exactly how things will proceed, but the talks are ongoing,” the senior diplomat stated.
US President Donald Trump campaigned last year on promises to tighten immigration policy and reverse what he viewed as his predecessor Joe Biden’s lenient approach. Since taking office in January, Trump has expanded the expedited removal of illegal immigrants and denied federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions.
According to Reuters, a resettled Iraqi refugee was deported to Rwanda last month, while the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the removal of Venezuelan migrants accused of gang affiliation.
During a cabinet meeting at the White House last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is “actively searching for other countries” to take “some of the most despicable human beings” identified for removal from the US.
“And the further away from America, the better, so they can’t come back across the border,” he said.
Rwanda has presented itself in recent years as a host country for people removed by Western nations, despite warnings from human rights organizations, including the UN refugee agency, that deportees sent to the African state risk being returned to the countries they fled. The UK Supreme Court also declared the scheme illegal, deeming Rwanda an unsafe third country for refugee resettlement. Kigali has denied the allegations.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration scrapped the scheme upon taking office in July 2024, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stating it had cost taxpayers £700 million ($930 million). Starmer declared the plan “dead and buried,” asserting that it had “never served as a deterrent” to illegal immigration and would ultimately deport “less than 1%” of those arriving on small boats.
Rwanda pushed back after the deal’s termination, reportedly demanding £50 million in compensation from the British government.
