Rwanda Receives First Migrants Deported From the U.S.

VOA

Rwanda on the map.

29 August 2025

allAfrica.com

Seven migrants have been deported from the United States arrived in Rwanda in mid-August. This marked the first group under a deal made with former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.  The agreement is expected to relocate 250 migrants to Rwanda.

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said the group had been vetted in Rwanda in mid-August. She gave no details about their nationalities, only explaining that four of them would remain in Rwanda, with three opting to return to their home countries.

Rights groups warned that the deportations might violate international law if people are sent to countries where they risk torture or other abuses.

Trump has focused on a sweeping mass deportation scheme to remove undocumented migrants from the U.S. since starting his second term in January. So far, at least a dozen nations have agreed to accept deported migrants from other countries.

The Rwandan government had also signed a controversial asylum deal with the UK in 2022 to accept asylum seekers, which was later canceled.