Central African Republic to Accept US-Deported Migrants

The Central African Republic (CAR) has agreed to accept migrants deported from the United States, according to two sources familiar with the deal. It is the latest move by President Donald Trump's administration to reach agreements with African countries to speed up the deportation of migrants to third countries.

The agreement was discussed on 18 May in the capital Bangui during a visit by a US delegation, the sources said. A CAR government official confirmed that the country would accept those deported by US authorities, though the number of migrants to be transferred, their nationalities and the timing of deportation flights remain unknown.

Washington has previously sent deported migrants to other African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea. Critics argue that in doing so the US is circumventing legal protections that some migrants have secured in US immigration courts, a charge US authorities reject, describing the deportations as legal.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is to assist deportees on arrival in the CAR, as it has done in other African countries. The US has allocated $85m for IOM operations in the country this year.

(reuters, max)