RismadarVoice Reporters
September 5, 2026
Guyana has received six migrants deported from the United States as part of the Trump administration’s expanding policy of sending some foreign nationals to third countries instead of their countries of origin.
Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud confirmed that the group, made up of Cuban and Afghan nationals, arrived in the South American country on Saturday after being removed from the United States over immigration issues.
Persaud said none of the deportees had criminal records and that Guyana had reached an agreement with Washington after months of negotiations to temporarily receive migrants affected by US deportation measures.
“The US has not made any further requests for additional deportations to Guyana at this time, Persaud told The Associated Press.
The agreement between Guyana and the United States will last for one year and does not represent permanent resettlement, according to officials. The deportees will remain in Guyana while their immigration cases are processed.
The migrants will receive support through the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme operated by the United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM). They may later return to their countries of origin or pursue relocation options elsewhere.
Third-country deportation involves sending foreign nationals to countries other than where they were born or hold citizenship. The practice has expanded under US President Donald Trump’s administration, which has negotiated similar arrangements with more than 30 countries, according to Amnesty International.
US officials have defended the policy, arguing that some countries, including Cuba, have refused to accept certain deportees from the United States.
However, human rights organisations have criticised the approach, raising concerns that migrants may be sent to unfamiliar countries where they lack social connections, language skills or access to adequate support.
Rights groups have also questioned the broader scope of the deportation programme, noting that many people facing removal do not have criminal convictions.
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a research organisation at Syracuse University, estimates that a significant majority of foreign nationals held in US immigration detention do not have criminal convictions.
The Trump administration has made immigration enforcement a major focus of its second term, including cancelling certain legal protections and expanding deportation efforts targeting foreign nationals living in the United States.
