Rwanda to Accept Up to 250 U.S. Deportees Under Trump-Era Third-Country Agreement

Rwanda has agreed to accept up to 250 deportees from the United States as part of the Trump administration’s expanding third-country deportation program, the Rwandan government confirmed on Tuesday.

The deal marks a significant step in the U.S.’s effort to strike bilateral agreements with African nations to facilitate the removal of individuals deemed to have entered the U.S. illegally, and whom former President Donald Trump has characterized as “the worst of the worst.”

Yolande Makolo, spokesperson for the Rwandan government, confirmed the arrangement in an email to the Associated Press, though she did not specify a timeline for when the deportations would begin.

This move follows similar U.S. deals with South Sudan and Eswatini, which recently accepted a combined 13 deportees—individuals described by the Trump administration as dangerous criminals with prior convictions in the U.S. However, both countries have remained tight-lipped about the details of their respective agreements.

In addition to Africa, the U.S. has sent hundreds of deportees—including Venezuelans and other Latin Americans—to countries such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama under the same policy.

Rwanda, a landlocked East African nation of around 15 million people, is no stranger to such international arrangements.

In 2022, it signed a controversial agreement with the United Kingdom to receive asylum seekers arriving on British soil.

Under that deal, their asylum claims were to be processed in Rwanda, with successful applicants resettling there.

However, the UK Supreme Court struck down the plan in 2023, ruling it unlawful amid widespread condemnation from human rights organizations and legal experts.

Back in May, Rwanda acknowledged it was in ongoing discussions with the U.S. regarding a potential deportation arrangement. This latest development confirms that those negotiations have now resulted in a formal agreement.