Afghans Deported From US Arrive in Guyana Under Third-Country Deal

DID Press: Guyana has received six deportees from the United States, including Afghan and Cuban nationals, under the Trump administration’s third-country deportation programme, Guyanese officials said. The group arrived on Friday after being vetted and found to have no criminal backgrounds.

Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud said the individuals were removed from the United States primarily over immigration issues rather than criminal offences. He told the Associated Press that Washington has not made any further requests to send non-Guyanese deportees to the country.

The agreement between Washington and Georgetown will remain in effect for one year and does not amount to permanent resettlement. The deportees will remain in Guyana while their immigration status is determined and could eventually return to their countries of origin or be relocated elsewhere.

The programme is being implemented through the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), which will provide support under its Assisted Voluntary Return Programme. Guyanese authorities said the government will not bear the cost of housing or supporting the deportees.

The transfers are part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to expand third-country deportations, under which migrants are sent to countries other than their countries of origin. The policy has drawn criticism from rights groups concerned about the conditions and legal protections available to deportees in receiving countries.

The latest development also comes amid reports that the U.S. administration is considering withdrawing visas from roughly 200,000 asylum seekers, potentially placing more migrants at risk of losing legal status and facing removal proceedings.