US to send third-country deportees to Central African Republic

Central African Republic has agreed to take in migrants from other countries deported by the United States, two sources with knowledge of the matter said, the latest example of the Trump administration striking deals with African states to accelerate removals.

Washington has sent so-called third-country deportees to African countries including Democratic Republic ‌of Congo, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea, under opaque deals that Senate Democrats say have cost tens of millions of dollars.

In many cases, deportees had secured legal protections from immigration courts in the US against their repatriation. But rights groups say the third-country deals allow the US to circumvent those protections.

Deal discussed with US delegation

Washington has defended the deportations as lawful.

The deal with Central African Republic was discussed during a May 18 meeting in the capital Bangui, with a US ⁠delegation led by Christian Jové Ehrhardt, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, a Central African government ‌official said.

“Central African Republic will indeed take in, within the framework of agreements with the US, immigrants deported by American authorities,” said the official, who requested anonymity.

A diplomat based in the region, also ‌speaking on condition of anonymity, also said a deal had been reached.