Will the United States deport people to Rwanda?

After a plan by the United Kingdom to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda was scrapped last year, Kigali is now in discussions about a similar arrangement with the United States, despite concerns from rights groups.

This month, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe confirmed that his country is in talks with Washington over a migration deal, but concrete details have been scarce.Analysts say this time, things just might work out for Rwanda.

Donald Trump’s government is actively deporting refugees to third countries like El Salvador and is reportedly in talks with Libya, a country beset by conflict and economic instability that already hosts tens of thousands of refugees.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the administration is looking for countries, preferably distant ones, to accept deported individuals, particularly convicted criminals who have served their sentences.

“We are working with other countries to say, ‘We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings to your countries,’” Rubio said during a cabinet meeting in April, adding that far-off locations would prevent re-entry.Human rights groups have, however, raised concerns that such deals could see refugees from unsafe countries being sent to other unsafe countries or even the very places they fled.What is in the proposal?
Minister Nduhungirehe, speaking to state TV on May 5, refused to give the full details of Kigali’s discussions with Washington but said the two countries were involved in talks at the “early stage”.

“We are in bilateral talks,” the official said. It’s unclear how many refugees could be transferred or when that might commence.Rwandan government spokesperson Yolanda Makolo, in a statement to Al Jazeera, said no details have been formalised.

“At this point, we are still in discussion and nothing has yet been agreed. One aspect of our approach is based on rehabilitation and integration, as opposed to prison camps or detention centres,” she said on Friday.

Earlier reporting by local Rwandan media suggested the agreement could see the US pay for a programme to help deported refugees integrate into Rwandan society through stipends and job assistance schemes.

The US has not publicly commented on the Rwandan talks.

In what looked like a possible model for future deportations, Washington quietly deported an Iraqi man, Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, in April. Although Ameen was granted US refugee status in 2014 and is a resident of Sacramento, the US government under Joe Biden and the previous Trump administration had sought to remove him from the country.