Rwanda-US Discuss Migrant Deportation Deal: New Opportunity or Repeat of Old

On May 5, 2025, Rwanda confirmed that it was in preliminary talks with the United States government regarding the possibility of accepting migrants deported from the US. These discussions reflect the aggressive immigration policies of President Donald Trump’s administration in his second term, as well as US efforts to expand the countries from which deportees are deported. A similar deal was attempted by the UK but failed amid legal pressure and high costs.

Rwanda’s Foreign Minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, stated that the discussions are still at an early stage and there are no technical details or concrete agreements yet. Rwanda had previously agreed with the UK in 2022 to accept asylum seekers, but the policy was canceled by the new UK government in 2024 after experiencing various legal obstacles and public criticism. The US move to partner with Rwanda comes as deportation policies have tightened under the Trump administration. Countries such as El Salvador, Panama, and Costa Rica have also been involved in similar efforts. Rwanda itself has stated that it is open to helping alleviate global migration pressures and has experience accepting migrants from conflict countries such as Libya and Israel.

However, this approach has drawn concerns from human rights groups and international bodies such as the UNHCR. They highlighted alleged human rights abuses in Rwanda, as well as the risk of forced returns to unsafe countries of origin.

Minister Nduhungirehe stated that Rwanda is passionate about giving second chances to those facing challenges in different parts of the world. However, the planned migrant recruitment effort could be very expensive and ineffective given the UK’s experience of spending nearly 715 million pounds, but only four people were actually sent to Rwanda and even then voluntarily.

While Rwanda has emphasized its readiness to support a global migration solution, the country’s track record on human rights and reception capacity are important considerations. Whether this deal will be a breakthrough or a repeat of the UK’s failure is still a big question that awaits answers from the outcome of further negotiations.

References

Al Jazeera. (2025, May 5). Rwanda confirms talks with US over receiving deported migrants. Al
Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/5/rwanda-confirms-talks-with-us-over-receiving-deporte
d-migrants

The New York Times. (2025, May 7). 4 lessons for Trump from Britain’s failed Rwanda
deportation deal. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/world/europe/trump-migrants-rwanda-us-uk.html

Reuters. (2025, May 5). Rwanda in talks to receive migrants deported from US, foreign minister
says. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/rwanda-talks-receive-migrants-deported-us-foreign-minister-says-2025-05-05/

PBS NewsHour. (2025, May 7). What to know about Rwanda’s talks with the U.S. about taking
in third-country deportees. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-to-know-about-rwandas-talks-with-the-u-s-about-taking-in-third-country-deportees

BBC News. (2025, May 5). Rwanda confirms talks with the US about taking in migrants. BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c367g52x7l6o

Spectrum News. (2025, May 6). Rwanda confirms U.S. talks about taking in deported migrants.
Spectrum Local News. https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/mountain/international/2025/05/06/rwanda-us-talks-deported-migrants

NPR. (2025, May 6). Rwanda in ‘early stages’ of talks with U.S. to take in deported migrants. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/05/05/nx-s1-5387506/rwanda-talks-us-deportation-migrants

IndoPremier. (2025, May 5). Rwanda in ‘initial’ talks with US over migration deal: FM. IndoPremier.
https://www.indopremier.com/ipotnews/newsDetail.php?jdl=Rwanda_in__initial__talks_with_US_over_migration_deal__FM&news_id=1682752&group_news=ALLNEWS&taging_subtype=CONGO&name=&search=y_general&q=CONGO%2C+&halaman=1

BBC News. (2025, May 5). Trump administration seeks countries to accept deported migrants.
BBC. (Supplemental information on US policy context). https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65512345