Kigali, Rwanda (AP) – Rwanda On Tuesday it became the third African country that agrees to accept deportation from the US under the Trump administration’s plans They have no relation to sending immigrants to the country To remove them from American soil.
Rwandan government spokesman Yolande Makoro told The Associated Press that the East African country will accept up to 250 deportees from the United States.
Makoro did not provide a timeline to say whether Recordy would arrive in Rwanda, arrive at once, or in several batches. She said the details were still resolved.
The US sent 13 men who were illegally said to be dangerous criminals in the US. To South Sudan and Eswatini in Africa Last month, it said it is seeking more agreements with African countries. It said that the homeland of these deportees refused to retrieve them.
US He was deported again Others to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama, including hundreds of Venezuelans, are under President Donald Trump’s plan to expel people who say he has illegally entered the United States and have entered the “worst and worst.”
Rwanda attracted international attention and attracted some anger when it hit Accepting immigration for trade with the UK in 2022 A person who arrives in the UK to seek asylum. Under that proposed deal, their claims would have been dealt with in Rwanda, and if they had been successful, they would have stayed there.
The controversial agreement was criticized by rights groups and others as unethical and infeasible, and was eventually scrapped when the new UK labour government took over. The UK Supreme Court held in 2023 that the transaction was illegal as Rwanda was not a safe third country for immigrants.
The Trump administration is under scrutiny from African countries that have signed secret deals to bring deportees. Sent eight men from South Sudan, Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar and Vietnam In early July, South Sudan After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling clarifies the path to their deportation.
They were detained for several weeks in a modified shipping container at a US military base in Djibouti as a legal battle over deportation took place. South Sudan, that’s it Turning into a civil warrefused to say where the men were held or what their fate was.
The US also deported five men, citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos. The Kingdom of Eswatini in South Africathe government said they will be held in solitary cells in prison for an undecided period.
Esvatini’s human rights lawyers are Denied access to legal representatives There, they took the authorities to court. Esvatini is Africa’s last absolute monarchy, effectively banning king rules against governments and political parties.
Both South Sudan and Esvatini refused to provide details of the agreement with the US
A relatively small country of around 15 million people, Rwanda has long stood out from the continent. genocide Over 800,000 people were killed in 1994. Longtime President Paul Kagame As an example of stability and development, however, human rights groups have argued that there is also a fatal crackdown on perceived objections to Kagame, who has been president for 25 years.
Government spokesman Makoro said the agreement with the US is that Rwanda plays its role in supporting international migration issues, as “our social values are based on reintegration and rehabilitation.”
“Acknowledged people (for resettlement in Rwanda) will be provided with workforce training, healthcare and accommodation support to launch a major start to life in Rwanda, giving them the opportunity to contribute to one of the fastest growing economies in the world over the past decade,” she said. There was no details as to whether Rwanda received anything in exchange for taking the Decorties.
“It will ease President Trump’s payments,” said Gonzaga Muganwa, a political analyst in Rwandan.
“The agreement raises Rwanda’s strategic interest in having good relations with the Trump administration,” he said.
The UK government estimated that the cost of the failed transaction with Rwanda would be around $900 million in public funds, including payments of around $300 million to Rwanda.
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Imrei was reported from Cape Town, South Africa.
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AP Africa News: https://apnews.com/hub/africa