BUJUMBURA — Burundi has agreed to join other African nations in receiving migrants from third countries deported from the United States under President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, while saying it will only accept people not accused of crime or terrorism links, The Guardian and Reuters reported.
Nancy Ninette Mutoni, spokesperson for President Évariste Ndayishimiye, said Tuesday’s announcement gave no details on numbers, timing or financial terms. “Receiving them requires serious planning — where they will stay, what they will eat and how they will live alongside the local population,” she said, adding that preparations were under way for accommodation and integration.
Washington has sent so-called third-country deportees to about half a dozen African nations under opaque deals that Senate Democrats say have cost tens of millions of dollars. In many cases, deportees had won U.S. immigration-court protections against repatriation to their home countries; rights groups say third-country transfers allow the United States to circumvent those protections.
Mutoni said Burundi aimed to strengthen diplomatic relations and provide hospitality, and that people who chose to contribute to national development would be treated under Burundian law regarding potential citizenship. The U.S. State Department told Reuters it does not comment on private diplomatic communications; a Burundi foreign ministry spokesperson said agreement details were not yet available.
Sources: The Guardian, Reuters
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