DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Burkina Faso’s government has publicly rejected a proposal from the U.S. Trump administration to accept deportees who are not citizens of the West African nation.
Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré announced the refusal on Thursday, describing the offer as “totally contrary to the value of dignity which is part of the very essence of the vision of Capt. Ibrahim Traoré,” the country’s military ruler.
The statement came hours after the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Ouagadougou, suspended most visa services for Burkinabe residents, rerouting applications to the neighboring embassy in Togo. While the U.S. did not provide a reason for the move, Traoré cited a U.S. diplomatic note alleging Burkinabe nationals failed to comply with visa usage rules. He suggested the visa suspension could be a possible “pressure tactic,” adding emphatically: “Burkina Faso is a land of dignity, not deportation.”
The U.S. Embassy and the Department of Homeland Security have not yet responded to requests for comment.
This situation follows a new third-country deportation program implemented by the Trump administration, under which more than 40 deportees have been sent to Africa since July. The U.S. has reached largely secretive agreements with at least five African nations to participate in the scheme, which has drawn widespread condemnation from rights groups.
Countries that have accepted U.S. deportees include Eswatini, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Ghana. A separate agreement is also in place with Uganda, though no deportations there have been confirmed.
Human Rights Watch reported last month that financial incentives were offered to some participating African countries. Reviewing written agreements, the rights group found Eswatini would receive $5.1 million in U.S. funding for migration and border management, while Rwanda was slated to receive $7.5 million.
The deportation program is facing challenges in Africa, as evidenced by a lawsuit filed by eleven of the fourteen deportees sent to Ghana last month. The plaintiffs are suing the Ghanaian government over what they describe as terrible conditions at a military camp on the outskirts of Accra where they are being held.
Source: ABC News
