Guyana becomes latest third country to accept U.S.-deported migrants

Guyana has become the latest country to accept migrants deported from the United States even though they are not its citizens. Six nationals from Cuba and Afghanistan arrived on Friday, Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud told the Associated Press.

Persaud said Guyanese authorities vetted the migrants and found no criminal backgrounds. He said the arrangement followed months of negotiations and would last one year. It does not amount to permanent resettlement, and the United States has made no further requests, he said.

The Guyanese government said the migrants were transferred under an “Assisted Voluntary Return Program.” They will await decisions in their immigration cases while in Guyana. They could eventually return to their countries of origin or be moved elsewhere.

The International Organization for Migration will implement the program, Guyanese authorities said. The government will not pay for housing or other support. Guyana joins more than 30 countries that have signed arrangements with the Trump administration to receive U.S. deportees, including several Caribbean Community members such as St. Kitts and Nevis and Belize.

Human rights activists have condemned the policy as inhumane and contrary to international law. They say some deportees could be sent back to countries they fled because of persecution. The Trump administration has defended the arrangements as lawful and argued that they can deter illegal immigration.

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The U.S. has not made any further requests.