Rwanda confirms talks with US over receiving deported migrants

Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe says the ‘ongoing’ discussions are ‘still in the early stages’.

Rwanda’s foreign minister has confirmed his country has entered discussions to receive immigrants deported from the United States, less than a year after a similar plan with Britain fell through.

“It has not yet reached a stage where we can say exactly how things will proceed, but the talks are ongoing,” Olivier Nduhungirehe told state broadcaster Rwanda TV in an  interview late on Sunday. “Still in the early stages.”

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was searching for more countries to take in people as the administration of President Donald Trump steps up efforts to deport immigrants who entered the US without documents and other noncitizens.

“We are working with other countries to say, ‘We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings to your countries. Will you do that as a favour to us?’ And the farther away from America, the better, so they can’t come back across the border,” Rubio said during a televised cabinet meeting as he was seated next to Trump.

Rwanda confirmed the talks after US media quoted unnamed officials from both countries as saying they were discussing the scheme. The US is also reportedly considering Libya as another destination.

Reports said the US wants to pay Rwanda to accept migrants with criminal records who have served their sentences in the US and potentially integrate them into society with stipends and job assistance to discourage them from returning to the US.

In March, the Trump administration deported an Iraqi national to Rwanda in a transfer that could serve as a model for the future, according to multiple US outlets quoting officials and citing documents.

The efforts are in line with Trump’s crackdown on immigration, which started immediately after he took office for a second four-year term in January.

His administration has been facing legal battles as it tries to continue sending accused gang members to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador without due process.

Amid the ongoing controversy over the wrongful deportation of a Salvadoran citizen living in Maryland to El Salvador, Trump last month said he would also like to deport “homegrown criminals” to the country, meaning US citizens. He also directed the opening of a detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold up to 30,000 people whom he called the “worst criminal aliens”.

In an interview that aired on Sunday, Trump said he “didn’t know” whether people in the US are entitled to due process rights guaranteed by the country’s Constitution.

Two inflatable dinghies carrying migrants pass a French navy vessel as they make their way towards England in the English Channel on May 4, 2024 [Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters]

The Rwandan and US governments have yet to officially confirm any of the details of their talks, but if an agreement is reached, it would not be the first time Rwanda would accept migrants expelled from the West.

The country had an agreement with the United Kingdom to take in migrants expelled by the British government, but the plan faced numerous legal challenges and was deemed unlawful by the British Supreme Court in a November 2023 ruling.

The then-newly elected Labour government scrapped the deal in July with Prime Minister Keir Starmer labelling it a “gimmick”. Rwanda is still seeking 50 million pounds ($66m) in payments from the UK over the cancelled deal.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned that some people sent to Rwanda could be returned to countries from which they had fled and could face dangers, including death.

Rwanda has denied the allegations and accused the UNHCR of lying.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies