Burundi has agreed to join a clutch of other African nations in receiving migrants from other countries deported from the US under Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy.
However, the authorities in Bujumbura, the country’s economic capital, said Burundi will only accept those not accused of crime or terrorism links, said Nancy Ninette Mutoni, a spokesperson for the country’s president, Évariste Ndayishimiye. Tuesday’s announcement gave no details of numbers, timing or financial details.
Washington has sent so-called “third-country deportees” to some half a dozen African nations as well as many other countries, often where they have no ties, have never been and find themselves detained indefinitely, under opaque deals that Senate Democrats say have cost tens of millions of dollars.
In many cases, deportees had secured legal protections from immigration courts in the US against repatriation. But rights groups say the third-country deals allow the US to circumvent those protections.
Mutoni said preparations were underway to arrange accommodation, living conditions and integration into local communities in Burundi. “Receiving them requires serious planning – where they will stay, what they will eat and how they will live alongside the local population,” she said.
“If they choose to join Burundian citizens and make a valuable contribution to national development, the law will be respected,” she said, regarding potential citizenship.
Burundi aimed to both strengthen diplomatic relations and provide hospitality to people in need, the spokesperson added.
The US state department did not immediately respond to requests for comment while a spokesperson for the Burundi foreign ministry said details of the agreement were not yet available.
