Guyana receives six migrants deported by Trump administration

The Trump administration is pushing hard to expand third-country deportations, securing over 30 deals with foreign governments so far. Guyana confirms it has already received six people deported from the United States as President Donald Trump steps up this controversial policy. Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud announced that a group of Cuban and Afghan nationals arrived in this South American nation on Saturday after being sent back due to immigration issues.

The US has not made any further requests at this time for non-citizen deportations to be sent to Guyana, according to Persaud speaking to The Associated Press news agency. None of these individuals had criminal backgrounds, he stated. These 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 noted 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. Trump officials argue that some countries, such as Cuba, refuse to accept deportees from the US. Rights groups denounce 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 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 of these deals have involved multimillion-dollar payments, with agreements struck with a range of countries around the world, including several as far afield as Africa.

Poverty, instability and conflict plague nations across the globe. Human rights abuses are a grim reality for many living there. On Saturday, people being sent back to Guyana will find support through the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme. This program is run by the United Nations International Organisation for Migration, or IOM. They will wait in Guyana while their immigration case moves forward. The outcome remains uncertain. Some may go home. Others might look for a new place to live elsewhere.

Restricting migration has become a signature move during Trump's second term. Deporting foreign nationals and punishing civil immigration infractions is now standard practice. As part of this push, the administration took away legal status from tens of thousands of migrants here. They cancelled programs like Temporary Protected Status or humanitarian parole without much warning. New reports suggest the plan goes further still. Roughly 200,000 people seeking asylum face visa removal. Stripping their immigration status leaves them vulnerable to deportation. This risk exists even when they come from places with ongoing wars or unstable conditions.