Guyana accepts six Cuban and Afghan citizens deported from the US
Guyana has accepted six Cuban and Afghan citizens whom the United States deported over immigration matters. Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud reported the group’s arrival on Saturday, Al Jazeera English reports.
According to Persaud, none of the six deportees had a criminal record. He also told the Associated Press that the United States has not yet sent Guyana any new requests to accept deported foreign nationals.
The agreement will be in force for one year
Guyana and the United States reached an agreement on accepting deportees after several months of negotiations. The agreement will be in force for one year and does not provide for the permanent resettlement of people in Guyana.
The deportees will receive assistance under the Voluntary Return Assistance Programme implemented by the UN International Organization for Migration. They will wait in Guyana for the outcome of their immigration proceedings. Later, they may return to their countries of origin or seek an opportunity to relocate elsewhere.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Deportations to third countries
The administration of US President Donald Trump is expanding the practice of deporting foreign nationals to third countries, rather than to their countries of origin. According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, more than 30 countries have concluded relevant agreements since Trump returned to power, including 15 countries in the Americas region.
US officials explained the practice by saying that some countries, including Cuba, refuse to accept deportees from the United States. At the same time, human rights groups criticize these mechanisms, viewing them as a way to punish migrants and pressure them to abandon their immigration claims in the United States.
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse research organization at Syracuse University estimates that 70.6% of foreign nationals currently held in US immigration detention centers have no criminal convictions.
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