Rwanda has agreed to accept up to 250 migrants from the US in a deal agreed with President Donald Trump’s administration.
The decision makes Rwanda the third African country to agree to accept migrants as part of the United States‘s strategy to relocate migrants to countries with which they have no affiliation, in order to remove them from its territory.
The East African nation would be able “to approve each individual proposed for resettlement”, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said in a statement on Tuesday.
Makolo did not provide a timeline for any deportees to arrive in Rwanda and said details were still being worked out.
Under the scheme, the deportees would be provided with work training, health care, and accommodation to start their lives in the new country, according to the Rwandan government.
The State Department said the US “works with Rwanda on a range of mutual priorities” but did not provide further details on the deportation deal.
Last month, the US sent 13 men it described as dangerous criminals who were in the US illegally to South Sudan and Eswatini, saying their home countries refused to take them back.
Washington has said it is pursuing additional agreements with African nations.
The US has already deported hundreds of Venezuelans and others to Costa Rica, Panama, and El Salvador as part of Donald Trump’s efforts to remove people he says entered the country illegally.
In March, invoking an 18th century wartime law, the US deported over 200 Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador, who were immediately sent to a large prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, which was originally designed to detain suspected gang members. Human rights groups say they have documented numerous deaths and cases of torture inside the facility.
Rwanda drew global attention and criticism in 2022 when it agreed to a similar deal with the UK.
The controversial deal faced criticism from human rights groups and others, who deemed it unethical and impractical. It was eventually abandoned after the Labour government came into power in 2024.
Britain’s Supreme Court ruled the agreement illegal, stating Rwanda was not a safe third country for migrants.
Rwanda, a relatively small nation with a population of around 15 million, has been notable in Africa for its recovery following the 1994 genocide that claimed over 800,000 lives.
Under the leadership of longtime President Paul Kagame, the country has marketed itself as a model of stability and progress. However, human rights organisations accuse the government of harsh and sometimes lethal repression of any perceived opposition to Kagame, who has held power for 25 years.
But the country’s government has said it is welcoming the migrants from the US “in part because nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement, and our societal values are founded on reintegration and rehabilitation”.
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