Rwanda agrees to take 250 migrants deported from US in bid to deepen ties with Washington
The US State Department has already sent Kigali a list of names for the first batch, with the initial 10 deportees expected to arrive soon, according to a senior official.
Rwanda has agreed to accept up to 250 migrants deported from the United States, making it the latest country to bend to the Donald Trump administration's pressure as part of its hardline immigration strategy, Politico reports.
"Nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement, and our societal values are founded on reintegration and rehabilitation," Yolande Makolo, Rwanda's government spokesperson, told Reuters.
She added that the program would provide deportees with "workforce training, health care and accommodation support to jump-start their lives in Rwanda."
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A senior Rwandan official, speaking anonymously, described the deal as an opportunity to deepen ties with Washington: "When you're a small country, any time you can find a way, consistent with your policies and values, to talk to a major country about something it cares about - rather than always asking it to take an interest in you -it creates a more balanced relationship."
The US State Department has already sent Kigali a list of names for the first batch, with the initial 10 deportees expected to arrive soon, according to the official. Their nationalities remain unclear.
While El Salvador received $6m (Sh774 million) from the US to hold migrants in detention, Rwanda will not be imprisoning anyone; instead, US funds will support Rwandan immigration authorities and training programs.
The agreement - first reported by Reuters - comes as the U.S. mediates a peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a move aimed at stabilising the mineral-rich region while securing American access to critical resources. Both Paul Kagame and Félix Tshisekedi are expected at the White House later this year to formalise the pact.
This is not Rwanda's first such arrangement.
In 2019, Kigali accepted deported migrants from Libya, and in 2022, it struck a controversial, now-defunct deal with Britain to resettle asylum seekers arriving illegally in the UK.
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