Controversy escalates as Trump officials accelerate deportations to Africa amid ‘resettlement’ claims
Another African country has agreed to take in deportees in a move that has stirred yet more controversy.
Just 24 hours after reporting that Donald Trump’s administration was set to place visa bonds of up to $15,000 on a large number of non-white countries, it is now being reported that several African nations are agreeing — allegedly under pressure from the White House — to accept deportees from the United States.
Donald Trump’s views on non-white people are once again in plain sight: don’t let them in; instead, use their countries as dumping grounds for those who don’t align.
Al Jazeera reported that on July 16, a flight carrying five convicted men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, and Yemen landed in Eswatini. CNN added that “eight migrants held in Djibouti for weeks” were sent to South Sudan, where they “fear they will face violence” after being deported to the poverty-stricken country.
Now, Rwanda has become the third African nation to agree to take part in the scheme.
Rwanda at the eye of deportation storm once again
Yolande Makolo, a Rwandan government spokesperson, told CNN that the country had “agreed with the United States to accept up to 250 migrants, in part because nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement, and our societal values are founded on reintegration and rehabilitation.” The statement added that the deal reportedly allows the government “to approve each individual proposed for resettlement.”
She added that the deportees, once they arrive, “will be provided with workforce training, health care, and accommodation support to jump-start their lives in Rwanda,” enabling them to “contribute to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world over the last decade.”
This is not the first time Rwanda has been involved in such a controversial plan. In 2022, under the backward policies of the United Kingdom’s Conservative government, a deal was pushed over the line to send deported asylum seekers to the East African nation. Alas, given the absurdity of the plan and the backlash from the majority of the public, it never came to fruition.
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Rwanda has faced criticism for its human rights record, causing some advocates to fear for the safety of deported migrants who have no connection to the country.
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