RWANDA has announced it received seven people deported from the United States as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
A Rwandan government spokesperson said on Thursday that the deportees arrived in mid-August, marking the first transfer in an agreement that might see as many as 250 people arrive in the central African country.
“Three of the individuals have expressed a desire to return to their home countries, while four wish to stay and build lives in Rwanda,” spokesperson Yolande Makolo said in a statement.
“Regardless of their specific needs, all of these individuals will receive appropriate support and protection from the Rwandan government.”
Makolo emphasised that the Rwandan government had “vetted” the deportees before their arrival.
They are currently being “accommodated by an international organisation” and would receive visits from local social services and the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, she added.
Rwanda is the fourth African country to agree to receive deportations of non-citizens from the US, alongside Uganda, Eswatini and South Sudan.
The US has declined to comment on the recent deportation, and the identities of the seven individuals have not been publicly disclosed.
Deporting migrants and asylum seekers to so-called third countries, where they have no personal connection, has been a growing practice under President Trump.
Administration officials have argued that the tactic is necessary for migrants and asylum seekers who cannot be returned to their countries of origin.
But the practice has met stiff opposition from rights groups, who question whether deportees would be safe in the third countries Trump selected, many of which have poor human rights records.
