Rwanda strikes deal with US to resettle up to 250 migrants- report

Rwanda and the United States have signed an agreement that could see up to 250 migrants deported from the US. resettled in Rwanda.

According to Reuters, the deal, signed in Kigali in June, allows the US to propose individuals for relocation, starting with an initial list of ten migrants currently undergoing vetting. 

Rwanda will have the final say on each case.

“Rwanda has agreed with the United States to accept up to 250 migrants, in part because nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement,” government spokesperson Yolande Makolo is quoted as saying. 

Approved migrants will receive workforce training, healthcare, and accommodation support to help them rebuild their lives in Rwanda. 

Makolo cited the country’s rapid economic growth over the past decade as a key factor in its ability to support integration.

Rwanda has positioned itself as a destination for migrants rejected by Western countries, earning praise for its logistical capacity and criticism from rights groups over its human rights record.

Between September 2019 and April 2025, the country received 2,760 refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from Libyan detention centres. The evacuees, mainly from Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Cameroon, and Nigeria, were housed at the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) centre in Bugesera District.

Most have since been resettled in third countries, primarily in Europe.

An official familiar with the new US deal said Rwanda would be compensated through a grant finalised in July, Reuters reported.

The agreement includes a clause that allows the 250-person cap to be raised by mutual consent.

Only migrants who have completed any prison sentences or face no criminal charges will be eligible for relocation. “No agreement with Washington would allow people to serve out their U.S. sentence in Rwanda,” the official said.

Migrants resettled under the deal will also be free to leave Rwanda at any time.