Guyana has accepted six Cuban and Afghan nationals deported from the United States, becoming the latest country to take in migrants who are not its own citizens under the Trump administration’s third-country removal programme.
The group arrived on Friday, September 4, after being vetted by Guyanese authorities and cleared as having no criminal backgrounds, Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud told the Associated Press. He said they had been removed from the US primarily over immigration matters.
The deportees will remain in Guyana while their immigration cases are assessed under an arrangement known as the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme. They could eventually return to their countries of origin or be transferred elsewhere.
The scheme is being implemented by the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration. The Guyanese government said it would not be responsible for housing or support costs.
Mr Persaud said the agreement followed months of negotiations and would last for one year. He added that “the U.S. has not made any further requests”, stressing that the arrangement did not amount to permanent resettlement.
Guyana is one of more than 30 countries to have reached agreements with Washington to accept deportees who are not their nationals. Other Caribbean Community members to have received small groups include St Kitts and Nevis and Belize, while St Lucia was expected to take its first group this week.
Human rights organisations have condemned the policy, arguing that sending people to countries they have no connection with can be inhumane and may breach international law, particularly where deportees could face persecution if returned to their countries of origin.
The Trump administration has defended the arrangements as lawful and said they are an effective deterrent to illegal immigration.
