Africans Are Being Pressured To Accept Deported Migrants – Some Aren’t Happy About It
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Africans Are Being Pressured To Accept Deported Migrants – Some Aren’t Happy About It
AFRICA
Recently, the first of 250 migrants who tried to move illegally to the United States were deported to the central African country of Rwanda.
Rwandan officials say they accepted them because they understand their situation.
“Rwanda has agreed with the United States to accept up to 250 migrants, in part because nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement, and our societal values are founded on reintegration and rehabilitation,” Rwandan government spokesperson, Yolande Makolo, told Reuters. “Those approved (for resettlement) will be provided with workforce training, healthcare, and accommodation support to jumpstart their lives in Rwanda, giving them the opportunity to contribute to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world over the last decade.”
Still, countries that accept migrants from the US and elsewhere are being compensated for their trouble: The program, part of President Donald Trump’s pledge to prevent illegal immigration in the US, is also an example of a booming new business.
As the BBC reported, numerous developing countries worldwide have agreed to take migrants from wealthier nations that have chosen to pay others to handle those individuals who have left their homes in search of safety or better economic opportunities.
For example, El Salvador has imprisoned Venezuelan citizens deported from the US. American taxpayers paid the country around $6 million for the resettlement, according to National Public Radio.
The US has also expelled individuals to Eswatini and South Sudan, the latter a war-torn nation on the brink of another war. Lawyers for those individuals have complained that they have been thrown in jail in their new host countries without due process and live in dire conditions.
Some are being deported even when their countries of origin are willing to take them back. For example, Jamaican national Orville Etoria was “inexplicably and illegally” sent to Eswatini when Jamaica said it would accept him back, the New York-based Legal Aid Society told the Los Angeles Times. Etoria and other men from Laos and Vietnam have been refused visitation by their local attorneys.
Rwanda hasn’t disclosed how much the US has paid to accept the migrants. But the US recently paid the country $100,000 to take a single Iraqi deportee.
The US isn’t alone in its offshoring.
Australia is paying the tiny Oceanic nation of Nauru $267 million in a lump sum as well as $46 million annually to take migrants, the Associated Press noted.
Three years ago, the United Kingdom attempted to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. The plan fizzled, however, after British courts found that it violated human rights laws. The British spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the plan. Now, Rwandan officials insist they are not required to pay the money back.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is now thinking of new ways to offshore migrants, according to a London School of Economics blog.
Meanwhile, Italy also was forced to pull back from its scheme to deport migrants to Albania for asylum processing after a court ruled it illegal on human rights grounds.
Still, Europeans have succeeded in other ways: They are paying Turkey almost $7 billion to process migrants so they might enter the European Union legally, rather than attempting to cross into Greece, where many are now detained in camps.
As the International Rescue Committee explained, this arrangement was part of the EU’s response to 1 million migrants seeking to enter the bloc in 2015. Most were from war-torn Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. Turkey is now forcibly sending many back to their home countries, Politico added.
The EU has also created a nearly $6 billion fund to pay Libya and other African countries to hold migrants there rather than letting them take to the Mediterranean Sea to go north, the Guardian reported.
Advocates, however, say the conditions are dire for the migrants who get stuck in North Africa. For example, last year, a journalist group forced the EU to admit that its money was allowing African countries to “dump” migrants in the remote parts of the Sahara.
Meanwhile, some Africans are not happy with the offshoring plans, saying that the US and other countries are attempting to dump their problems onto African nations and not taking no for an answer.
In June, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration had pressured 58 countries, many in Africa, to accept deportees. This “intense diplomatic campaign” targeted nations facing US travel bans, visa restrictions or tariffs, raising concerns that some leaders may comply regardless of whether it serves their country’s interests.
The US’ approach reflects a troubling perception of Africa as a “dumping ground” for foreign nationals convicted of violent crimes, said Al Jazeera, creating anger on the continent. Analyst Chris Ogunmodede told the news outlet that countries like South Sudan and Eswatini, with no geopolitical heft, can easily be bullied into compliance by larger nations.
Analysts say this campaign has deep repercussions for Africa.
“The deportations have deepened public distrust in host country governments. Secrecy surrounding the deals exacerbates instability in both (Eswatini and South Sudan), which are already burdened by violence, instability, and crackdowns on pro-democracy movements,” wrote the Institute for Security Studies. “Many citizens believe the US has used aid and trade to pressure South Sudan and Eswatini into compliance and gain favor with the Trump administration, triggering fears over what was promised in exchange.”
At least one country has said no.
Regional heavyweight Nigeria was asked by the US to take Venezuelan deportees, some straight out of prison, according to Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar. The country turned down the request.
“The US is mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept (deportees),” he said, speaking on a Nigerian talk show. “For crying out loud, we already have 230 million people, the very same people that would castigate us if we accepted (the deportees).”
Meanwhile, he added, “We have enough problems of our own.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Former Brazilian President Found Guilty of Plotting Coup
BRAZIL
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was found guilty Thursday of plotting a military coup and killing the current president to stay in power after his 2022 election defeat, and sentenced to 27 years in prison, the Associated Press reported.
The 4-1 ruling by a panel of five justices of Brazil’s Supreme Court found the former right-wing president guilty on five counts: Bolsonaro was charged with leading a criminal organization, attempting to abolish the democratic rule of law, attempting a coup, and two counts of destruction of property. He is also accused of plotting to murder left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in the 2022 election, and other officials, including a high-court justice who presided over the trial.
Bolsonaro has denied all accusations as politically motivated and is expected to appeal.
Earlier this week, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux voted to annul the case against Bolsonaro on jurisdictional issues, bolstering the odds of an appeal, Reuters reported.
Fux’s vote could help Bolsonaro’s appeal: His defense team has argued that the case should be decided by the high court’s full bench of 11 justices, including two who were appointed by the former president.
A lengthy appeals process would push the proceedings closer to the 2026 presidential campaign, in which Bolsonaro says he will take part in. However, he has been barred from running for office until 2030 in a separate case over his spreading of unfounded claims about Brazil’s electronic voting system.
Meanwhile, the ruling, analysts say, is expected to deepen political divisions in the young democracy that has seen more than a dozen coup attempts but historically has opted for political reconciliation rather than prosecution.
The case has already drawn Bolsonaro supporters out in protest over the past year, with tens of thousands taking to the streets across the country over the weekend, along with counter demonstrators.
The verdict is also expected to cause a backlash from the US government: US President Donald Trump has called the trial a “witch hunt” orchestrated by political rivals to keep Bolsonaro out of next year’s presidential election: He has raised tariffs on Brazil in retaliation and sanctioned Brazilian officials overseeing the case.
After the verdict Thursday, Trump called Bolsonaro a “good man” and drew parallels to his own experience.
“I watched that trial. I know him pretty well,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I thought he was a good president of Brazil. And it’s very surprising that that could happen. That’s very much like they tried to do with me, but they didn’t get away with it at all.”
Bolsonaro followed the trial from his home in the capital, Brasília, where he is being kept under house arrest. He is currently banned from using social media and has yet to comment on the verdict.
Alexandre de Moraes, the first justice to cast his vote, said there was “no doubt” Bolsonaro plotted a coup. He added that there was more than enough evidence of a plan to assassinate the current president, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and de Moraes himself.
“The government wanted to remain in power by simply ignoring democracy – and that is what constitutes a coup d’état,” he said Tuesday from the bench. “The leader of the criminal group made it clear – publicly and in his own words – that he would never accept defeat at the ballot, a democratic loss in the elections, and that he would never abide by the will of the people.”
ICE Raid on South Koreans Strains US-South Korea Ties, As Workers Repatriated
SOUTH KOREA
More than 300 South Korean nationals returned home Thursday, a week after being detained by US immigration authorities in Georgia in an operation that shocked Seoul and raised questions about ties between the two allies as well as future foreign investment in the US, NBC News reported.
Last week, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 475 workers on a construction site in the town of Ellabell, where South Korean companies Hyundai and LG Energy Solution are building an electric vehicle battery plant.
Among those arrested were 317 South Koreans, many of them engineers and mechanics on temporary visas or visa waivers. Only 47 were directly employed by LG Energy Solution, with the rest working for subcontractors.
US authorities alleged those arrested were working or living in the US illegally. No criminal charges have been filed.
The South Korean nationals initially agreed to “voluntary departures” on Wednesday following a meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
However, their departure was delayed for more than a day after President Donald Trump ordered a pause, asking if the skilled workers could stay to train US staff. Cho suggested the workers should return first, saying they were “already in shock and exhausted.”
Only one worker chose to stay, according to South Korean officials.
The ICE raid, coupled with images of the detained nationals, sparked anger in South Korea, which recently pledged to invest billions in the United States as part of tariff negotiations.
Local media warned that the incident could have “a chilling effect on the activities of our businesses in the United States,” and urged the two countries to “cooperate to repair cracks in their alliance.”
While South Korean President Lee Jae Myung believed the incident would not impact Seoul’s relations with Washington, he cautioned that it could make companies “very hesitant” about expanding in the US if highly skilled specialists cannot be sent freely, the BBC News wrote.
The Hyundai–LG battery plant in Georgia – central to US plans to rival China in green tech – is expected to create 8,000 mostly American jobs once complete.
Observers said the raid also highlighted some of the questionable visa practices by South Korean firms, which often dispatch teams abroad to install machinery and train workers, partly because such expertise is scarce in the US and long-term work visas are hard to obtain, according to the Washington Post.
Lee confirmed the government is negotiating with Washington on new visa quotas or special visa categories to prevent repeat incidents.
Poland Requests UN Security Council Meeting Following Russian Drone Incursion
POLAND
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting over the “unprecedented” Russian violations of Polish airspace seen Wednesday, after Poland called for an international response to the incident, the Financial Times reported Thursday.
The meeting is expected to take place on Friday, according to a European diplomat, but the UN has yet to confirm it.
About 19 Russian drones, several of which were launched from Russian ally Belarus, violated Poland’s airspace early Wednesday while Russia was attacking targets in Ukraine. Polish aircraft and NATO fighter jets shot down some of the drones in a rare clash between Moscow and militaries from the US-led Western alliance, according to the Washington Post.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the incursion as a “large-scale provocation” by Moscow that had brought Poland – a member of the UN, the European Union, and NATO – “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II.”
Poland requested its NATO allies provide extra air defense capabilities, while the alliance is mulling its response to Russia’s incursion following Poland’s invocation of Article 4, the mechanism for coordinating a collective response by NATO’s 32 members.
Poland had previously triggered Article 4 in 2014 in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and later in 2022, along with eight other allies, following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Associated Press added.
Following the incursion, both Poland and Latvia restricted civilian flights along their eastern borders, Politico noted. Poland borders Belarus and Ukraine, and said the restrictions will remain in place until Dec. 9. Latvia, which borders Russia and Belarus, imposed restrictions until Sept. 18, but they could be extended. An armed Russian military drone had crashed in Latvia in September 2024, possibly en route to Ukraine.
European leaders condemned the incursion, accusing Russia of expanding the conflict rather than pursuing a truce with Ukraine, Euronews wrote. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “testing” the EU and that recent events in Poland are “a game changer.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was prepared to assist in fencing off Russian drone incursions. France, the UK, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands also made proposals for assistance in air defense, according to Tusk.
DISCOVERIES
The Butt of a Road
Researchers say that around 9 trillion cigarette butts will be tossed away worldwide in 2025, many of which will end up littering streets and other public places.
So scientists got creative.
Now, they want to put them to work because using them in the asphalt on roads helps to both clean streets and make them stronger, according to new research.
Scientists focused on cigarette butts from electronic cigarettes, as these are longer than the traditional ones and contain more of the filtration material needed for the project. However, any type of cigarette butts could work, New Atlas explained.
The team started by removing the ashy residue from the ends of the used e-cig filters, leaving the bulk of the material, mostly made of cellulose and PLA (polylactic acid) fibers.
The remaining material was shredded and mixed with a synthetic hydrocarbon wax, which held the resulting mixture together.
The mixture was then pressed, heated, and cold-cut into pellet-shaped pieces.
The pellets, old asphalt from deteriorated roads, and bitumen were mixed, resulting in asphalts with 40 percent of their weight made up of recycled road material and cigarette butt pellets, according to a statement.
When the pellets came into contact with the hot bitumen, their synthetic wax melted, letting the cellulose and PLA fibers integrate into the asphalt.
“Overall, this study confirms the possible use of recycling agent-encapsulated fiber pellets derived from E-CBs (e-cigarette butts) in mixtures containing RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement), with the potential effects on improving fatigue resistance,” wrote the authors.
The firm but flexible fibers served as miniature reinforcing bars within the asphalt, reinforcing it and making it less likely to crack under load but also serving as a binder, making it more flexible than traditional asphalt.
This project also marks a step forward in sustainable road construction, as the pellets’ wax modified the viscosity of the bitumen, enabling the production of new asphalt at lower, more energy-efficient temperatures.