Rwanda has announced the arrival of the first group of deportees from the United States. Seven migrants were transferred to the East African country in August under a new deportation agreement with Washington. The deal, which was not widely publicized, allows Rwanda to accept up to 250 deportees from the US, a development that raises both humanitarian and legal questions.
Yolande Makolo, a spokeswoman for the Rwandan government, confirmed the arrival of the "first group of seven vetted migrants" in a statement. She noted that the individuals have been "accommodated by an international organization" and that representatives from the International Organization for Migration and Rwandan social services have visited them. The deportees have been given a choice: three have expressed a desire to return to their home countries, while four have chosen to stay and build new lives in Rwanda. Those who opt to settle in the country will receive workforce training and healthcare, according to Makolo.
Rwanda is one of four African nations that have reached these secretive deportation agreements with the US, a list that also includes Uganda, Eswatini, and South Sudan. The agreements have drawn scrutiny from human rights organizations and legal experts who question the ethics of sending vulnerable individuals to countries with complex political and human rights records.
The Trump administration has been at the center of these deals, which have been made without a great deal of public transparency. In early July, the US deported eight men from a variety of countries to South Sudan after a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for their removal. In a particularly concerning development, five men who were citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos were deported to the southern African kingdom of Eswatini, where the government stated they would be held in solitary confinement in prison for an undetermined period of time.
