Photo credit: The New York Times
Burundi has agreed to accept people deported by the United States who have no previous connection to the East African country, a spokesperson for the country’s president said Tuesday.
The Independent reports that Nancy Ninette Mutoni said Burundi would accept only people who were not facing prosecution and had no links to terrorism. She spoke during an event attended by government officials in Ngozi.
She did not say when the deportees would arrive or how many people Burundi had agreed to receive. She said preparations were underway to provide accommodations and help deportees live in local communities.
“Receiving them requires serious planning – where they will stay, what they will e at and how they will live alongside the local population,” Mutoni said.
The Trump administration has expanded third-country deportations as part of its immigration crackdown, sending people to countries where they are not citizens and may never have lived. The United States has sent deportees to several African countries, including Eswatini and South Sudan.
