After El Salvador, an African country has now agreed to receive immigrants deported by the United States.
According to a report published by The Handbasket and relayed Tuesday by The New Republic, the United States has begun discussions with Rwanda to transfer certain immigrants. This decision had not previously been made public by either the U.S. or Rwandan authorities.
A diplomatic cable sent on March 13, 2025, by the U.S. Embassy in Kigali stated that Rwanda had agreed to accept individuals who cannot be returned to their country of origin due to the risk of persecution. A second cable, dated April 22, revealed that an Iraqi national, Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, was the first to be officially deported to Rwanda under this confidential agreement, according to The New Republic.
This new strategy contrasts with a prior agreement made in January between the U.S. and El Salvador, which resulted in legal challenges—particularly following the mistaken deportation of an immigrant named Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
According to The Handbasket, the April cable emphasized that “this successful relocation — and Rwanda’s subsequent agreement to accept additional third-country nationals (TCNs) — validated the concept of a new removal program to relocate TCNs to Rwanda.”
The same document refers to a “wish list” submitted by Kigali, which included a $100,000 payment to fund social services, residency documentation, and work permits. That payment was confirmed, though it remains unclear whether other Rwandan requests were accepted by Washington.
The cable also stated that Rwanda agreed to accept ten more individuals of various nationalities. Kigali reportedly expressed a desire to establish a bilateral dialogue to create a sustainable program, aiming to avoid time-consuming, case-by-case negotiations in the future.
The case of Omar Abdulsattar Ameen highlights the tensions surrounding this policy. Granted refugee status in the United States in 2014, Ameen was arrested in 2018 at his home in Sacramento. The Trump administration accused him of involvement in a murder in Iraq on behalf of the Islamic State group. Ameen has consistently denied these allegations, stating he was in Turkey at the time, awaiting refugee processing by the United Nations.
In 2021, a federal judge ordered his release, calling the charges “dubious” and the prosecution’s witnesses “implausible.”
In a public statement issued in May 2024, Ameen said: “I am extremely grateful to the judge for reviewing all the evidence, and I thank God that in this country, I was able to defend my innocence and be found innocent. I love America and want to live here with my wife and children for the rest of my life. It is painful that I still have to fight for my freedom.”
Despite that court ruling, Ameen was detained again by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Biden administration and ultimately deported to Rwanda by the Trump administration.
To date, neither the U.S. State Department nor the Rwandan government has officially confirmed the existence of the agreement, which could nonetheless mark the beginning of a new deportation program to third countries, carried out without public transparency.
Sources:
- Hafiz Rashid, The New Republic, “Trump Finds Another Country to Accept His Mass Deportations,” April 23, 2025
- The Handbasket, diplomatic cables dated March 13 and April 22, 2025
