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Rwanda receives first US deportees under migration deal

Aug 29, 2025, 6:37am EDT
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Rwanda’s government spokesperson Yolande Makolo addresses a news conference.
Jean Bizimana/File Photo/Reuters

Rwanda said it received the first seven people deported from the US as part of a migration deal with Washington.

The White House has launched a wide-ranging immigration crackdown and as part of its efforts has enlisted multiple African and Latin American countries to take in those being removed from the US, even reportedly considering threatening full visa bans if countries do not agree.

Kigali has said that it will provide those transferred with accommodation, health care, and training, and positions itself as one of Africa’s most stable nations, but migration rights activists say the deals being struck by Washington may violate international law more broadly by sending deportees to countries where they risk persecution.

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