Guyana on Friday became the latest “third country” to accept migrants deported from the United States, a U.S. official told CBS News.
The South American country received a handful of Afghan and Cuban deportees expelled by the Trump administration, the official said.
Guyana is one of more than 30 nations that have now signed deals with the Trump administration to accept deportees from the U.S. who are not their own citizens.
The Guyanese government said in a statement that those relocated to the country under what it called the “Assisted Voluntary Return Program” will await the outcome of their immigration cases in Guyana. They could ultimately return to their country of origin or be relocated somewhere else.
The U.N. International Organization for Migration is responsible for implementing the program, authorities in Guyana said, adding that the government will not bear any housing or support costs.
Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud told the Associated Press on Saturday that six nationals from Cuba and Afghanistan arrived on Friday after being vetted by his administration and found to have no criminal backgrounds.
Persaud said his administration reached an agreement to host the deportees after months of negotiations. He also told the AP that “the U.S. has not made any further requests.” The arrangement will run for a year and does not constitute permanent resettlement, he said.
Guyana, a founding member of the 15-nation Caribbean Community, is the latest of several member states to have received small groups of U.S. deportees. Others include St. Kitts and Nevis, Belize and St. Lucia, which was due to accept its first group this week, officials said.
Human rights activists have denounced the third-country deportations as inhumane and illegal under international law, saying some countries are returning deportees to places they fled because of persecution.
But the Trump administration has defended the legality and merits of the deportations, portraying them as an effective way to deter illegal immigration.