Burundi has agreed to receive migrants deported from the United States who have no previous connection to the East African country, becoming the latest African nation to participate in the US administration’s third-country deportation programme.
Nancy Ninette Mutoni, spokesperson for Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, confirmed the decision. She said Burundi would only accept people who are not facing criminal prosecution and have no links to terrorism.
The Burundian government has not disclosed how many deportees it will receive, when they will arrive or whether the agreement includes financial arrangements with the United States. Officials said preparations were already underway to determine how the migrants would be accommodated and integrated into local communities.
Mutoni said the government needed to carefully plan where the deportees would stay, how they would be supported and how they would live alongside local residents. She also indicated that people who eventually settle in Burundi could potentially seek citizenship if they meet the country’s legal requirements.
The agreement forms part of the Trump administration’s expansion of third-country deportations, under which migrants are sent to countries other than their countries of citizenship or previous residence. Several African countries have already entered similar arrangements with the United States, including Eswatini and South Sudan.
The policy has attracted criticism from human-rights organisations. Critics argue that sending people to countries with which they have no established connection can create difficulties over detention, legal representation and protection from persecution or torture.
The programme has also faced legal challenges in the United States. A recent US appeals court ruling required people facing removal to have a meaningful opportunity to raise concerns about possible persecution or torture. A planned flight carrying about 70 people from Louisiana to Burundi, Rwanda and the Central African Republic was subsequently cancelled, according to AP.
Burundi’s government, however, presented its decision as both a humanitarian gesture and an opportunity to strengthen diplomatic cooperation with the United States. Mutoni said Burundi had a history of welcoming people facing hardship.
The decision comes as Washington continues to seek agreements with countries willing to receive migrants who cannot immediately be returned to their countries of origin.
For Burundi, the immediate challenge will be establishing the practical arrangements required to accommodate the deportees. The government has yet to announce the expected number of people involved or a timetable for their arrival.
