Cuban and Afghan immigrants deported from US under Trump arrive in Guyana

The Trump administration has sought to expand third-country deportations, with more than 30 deals struck so far with foreign governments.

Haitians deported from the US land in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, on August 27 [Ketlain Difficile/AP Photo]

Guyana says that it has received six people deported from the United States, as the administration of President Donald Trump steps up so-called third-country deportations.

Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud announced that a group of Cuban and Afghan nationals had arrived in the South American nation on Saturday, after being deported due to immigration issues.

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“The US has not made any further requests” for non-citizen deportations to be sent to Guyana at this time, Persaud told The Associated Press news agency.

None had criminal backgrounds, according to Persaud. The removals are part of an ongoing campaign under Trump, who promised during his 2024 re-election bid to engineer the “largest deportation programme of criminals in the history of America”.

Persaud said that Guyana reached an agreement with the US to receive deportees after months of negotiations.

The human rights nonprofit Amnesty International estimates that more than 30 countries have entered into such agreements since Trump returned to office, including 15 in the Americas region.

The deal with Guyana will last for one year and does not constitute permanent resettlement, Persaud said.

Third-country deportations involve sending foreign nationals to places outside of their country of origin. Deportees often have no familiarity with the country they are sent to and sometimes do not even speak the language.

The Trump administration has sought to expand the use of third-country deportations.

It has struck agreements with a range of countries around the world, including several as far afield as Africa. Some of the deals have involved multimillion-dollar payments.

Trump officials have justified the effort by arguing that some countries, such as Cuba, refuse to accept deportees from the US.

Rights groups, however, have denounced the practice as an effort to punish migrants and pressure them into giving up their immigration claims in the US.

Many of the deportees have no criminal background, reflecting the expanding scope of Trump’s deportation efforts during his second term.

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a research organisation at Syracuse University, estimates that 70.6 percent of foreign nationals currently in US immigration detention have no criminal conviction.

Third-country deportations have also raised concerns about conditions in the countries non-citizens are sent to. Some countries struggle with poverty, instability and conflict, as well as human rights abuses.

The deportees sent to Guyana on Saturday will receive resources through the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme, run by the United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Under the arrangement, those deported will await the outcome of their immigration process in Guyana.

They could return to their countries of origin or seek relocation elsewhere.

Efforts to restrict immigration, deport foreign nationals and crack down on civil immigration infractions have become a hallmark of Trump’s second term.

As part of that campaign, the Trump administration has stripped tens of thousands of migrants in the country of their legal status, through the cancellation of programmes like Temporary Protected Status or humanitarian parole.

Reports have also emerged that the administration plans to strip visas from roughly 200,000 people seeking asylum.

The removal of their legal immigration status exposes foreign nationals to the risk of deportation, in some cases despite ongoing conflicts or unstable conditions in their destination countries.

特朗普政府一直试图扩大对第三国的驱逐出境，迄今为止已与外国政府达成了 30 多项协议。

8月27日，被美国驱逐出境的海地人抵达海地角。[Ketlain Difficile/AP Photo]

圭亚那表示，该国已接收了六名从美国遣返的人员，与此同时，唐纳德·特朗普总统的政府加大了所谓的第三国遣返力度。

圭亚那外交部长罗伯特·珀绍德宣布，一群古巴和阿富汗国民因移民问题被驱逐出境后，于周六抵达这个南美国家。

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名单2/3：曾协助美军的阿富汗人的亲属被驱逐到非洲

名单中的第三名：一名移民及海关执法局（ICE）特工被控就明尼苏达州枪击案作伪证。

珀绍德告诉美联社：“美国目前没有提出任何进一步要求”将非公民遣返回圭亚那。

据珀绍德称，这些人都没有犯罪记录。此次遣返行动是特朗普持续推进的一项运动的一部分，特朗普在2024年竞选连任时承诺，将推行“美国历史上规模最大的罪犯遣返计划”。

珀绍德表示，经过数月的谈判，圭亚那与美国达成协议，接收被驱逐者。

人权非营利组织国际特赦组织估计，自特朗普重返总统职位以来，已有超过 30 个国家签署了此类协议，其中包括美洲地区的 15 个国家。

珀绍德表示，与圭亚那达成的协议将持续一年，并不构成永久安置。

第三国遣返是指将外国公民送往其原籍国以外的地方。被遣返者通常对被遣返国一无所知，有时甚至不会说当地语言。

特朗普政府一直试图扩大将人员遣返至第三国的范围。

该公司已与世界各国达成协议，其中包括远在非洲的几个国家。其中一些协议涉及数百万美元的款项。

特朗普政府官员辩称，一些国家（例如古巴）拒绝接收来自美国的遣返人员，以此来为这一举措辩护。

然而，人权组织谴责这种做法，认为这是在惩罚移民，并迫使他们放弃在美国的移民身份。

许多被驱逐者没有犯罪记录，这反映出特朗普在其第二个任期内驱逐出境的范围不断扩大。

雪城大学的研究机构“交易记录访问中心”（TRAC）估计，目前被美国移民拘留的外国公民中有 70.6% 没有犯罪记录。

将非公民遣返至第三国也引发了人们对这些国家状况的担忧。一些国家饱受贫困、动荡和冲突的困扰，人权状况也十分堪忧。

周六被遣返回圭亚那的人员将通过联合国国际移民组织（IOM）运营的“协助自愿返回计划”获得资源。

根据该安排，被驱逐出境者将在圭亚那等待移民程序的最终结果。

他们可以返回原籍国，也可以寻求移居他处。

限制移民、驱逐外国公民和严厉打击违反移民法的行为已成为特朗普第二任期的标志性举措。

作为该行动的一部分，特朗普政府通过取消临时保护身份或人道主义假释等项目，剥夺了该国数万名移民的合法身份。

另有报道称，政府计划取消约 20 万名寻求庇护者的签证。

取消其合法移民身份会使外国公民面临被驱逐出境的风险，在某些情况下，即使其目的地国家存在持续冲突或不稳定局势。