Illegal migrants to US, including from India, take note: Trump might send you to… West Africa

Trump wants African nations to host US deportees: US President Donald Trump met leaders of some African nations on Wednesday (July 9). Reports are now saying that one of the areas of focus was for some of these countries to host illegal migrants and asylum seekers deported by the US. A report in the Wall Street Journal said the US State Department simultaneously sent proposals to these nations, mostly in West Africa, requesting them to accept migrants deported from the US whose home countries are unwilling or slow to receive them. Note that in the past, more than 100 Indian illegal migrants were sent to third countries like Panama for ‘processing’, before being sent to India.

Trump bats for ‘safe third country agreements’

Trump held the summit with leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Gabon, and Guinea-Bissau at the White House. At the outset, he said: “I hope we can bring down the high rates of people overstaying visas, and also make progress on the safe third country agreements.” This set the tone for the meeting, in which he also discussed trade, development, civil conflict and poverty in these nations.

US migrant deportation plan for Africa

The US proposal to send illegal migrants and deportees to third countries is eerily similar to the much-reviled and failed ‘Rwanda plan’ of Britain. According to the WSJ report, an internal State Department document suggested that the African countries would need to accept the “dignified, safe, and timely transfer" from the US of third-country nationals. As per the memo seen by WSJ, the countries would have to agree “not to return transferred migrants to their home country or country of former habitual residence until a final decision has been made on their asylum claims.

Did the African leaders accept the proposal to take in migrants from third countries?

As per the report, it's not clear if any of the African leaders who met Trump agreed to the proposals. None of them talked about it while interacting with the media.

Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, the brain behind third country deportation idea, was present at Trump's summit with the African leaders.

Trump put pressure on African leaders to accept US deportees: Report

The WSJ report cited a State Department official as saying that US diplomats were instructed to tell African counterparts that hosting third-country nationals was ‘the most important issue’ for Trump.

They were told that cooperation on migration was “critical in improving commercial ties with the US,” indicating there was clear pressure on the African nations to cooperate on taking in deportees.

Third-country deportations are ongoing, with Supreme Court backing

It has now become a frequent trend for the US to send illegal migrants and asylum seekers, including those from India, to third countries. In February this year, more than 100 migrants were sent to Panama. In May, eight migrants were marked for deportation to South Sudan: only one among them was a native of that African country.

The US has already put forth requests to Libya, Rwanda, Benin, Eswatini, Moldova, Mongolia, and Kosovo to take US deportees.
Recently, the US Supreme Court upheld the Trump administration’s ability to deport migrants to third countries, overturning lower court rulings.

'Serious criminals, sex offenders being sent away'

Trump and his administration have often justified sending the migrants packing to other countries, citing their alleged criminal records for robbery, sexual offences and murder.

US officials have maintained that Trump had the authority to remove serious criminals from the US and send them to other countries if their home countries refuse to take them. In most cases, the home countries are Mexico or other Latin American nations.

African leaders are not happy about end of USAID, but Trump gave it a trade spin

West African nations were hit the hardest by the end of USAID operations on July 1. But at the summit, Trump gave it a trade spin.

“We have closed the USAID group to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse…and we’re working tirelessly to forge new economic opportunities involving both the United States and many African nations,” He said at the summit.

Carrots and sticks: Trump is expanding travel bans on African countries

Meanwhile, Trump is reportedly going to add many African countries in the expanded travel ban 2.0, including the ones whose leaders he met on Wednesday. Gabon, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal are among 36 countries that might get added in the ban.

The main concerns about these countries are migration and narcotic drugs.

Senegal, Mauritania, and Guinea-Bissau are seen as both transit and origin points for migration. Many of these countries have drug trafficking networks.

These issues have likely come up in the Trump administration's discussions with African nations.

In all likelihood, Trump will use a combination of punitive measures like travel ban, and incentives like trade and investment to lure these African nations into accepting illegal migrants and deportees from third countries.