Rwanda

The Rwandan government confirmed that seven third country nationals arrived in Rwanda in August, with two small-scale ICE flights tracked on August 16 and 17. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not publicly confirmed these flights. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported sheltering and screening the non-Rwandans to assess their basic needs.

This transfer occurred following discussions that began at the start of the second Trump administration and resulted in an undisclosed Memorandum of Understanding on June 3, 2025 for Rwanda to receive 250 third country nationals from the United States. In early October, the text of the agreement was published by reporters. The agreement specifies that the United States will pay Rwanda $7.5 million and Rwanda would approve the third country national transfers and provide them “appropriate legal status” under Rwandan law. Earlier, in April 2025, the United States reportedly paid Rwanda $100,000 to accept an Iraqi refugee, a transfer cited as a “model” for the current arrangement. 

Little information is publicly available regarding the nationalities or current status of the seven individuals known to have been transferred from the United States to Rwanda in August 2025. A Rwandan government spokesperson stated that three of the seven “expressed a desire to return to their home countries, while four wish to stay and build lives in Rwanda.” It is unknown if further transfers of third country nationals have occurred since August.

Serious concerns remain regarding the safety of the individuals and Rwanda’s capacity to provide protection. Historically, transferred asylum seekers in Rwanda have faced significant risks, leading courts to stop the transfers. Between 2013 and 2018, Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers transferred from Israel to Rwanda under a covert agreement were given no legal immigration status and subjected to extortion and expulsion. In March 2018, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered a freeze on all deportations after the Israeli government failed to provide the court with additional information it had requested regarding the agreements. A 2022 agreement between Rwanda and the United Kingdom was ruled unlawful by the British Supreme Court, due to the risk that the transferred individuals could have their asylum claims wrongly rejected in Rwanda and be returned to danger in their countries of origin. A subsequent United Kingdom treaty with Rwanda specified that “anyone removed to Rwanda under the provisions of the treaty will not be removed from Rwanda.” Human Rights Watch condemned the agreement because of concern about Rwanda’s judiciary, human rights record, and compliance with international agreements. 

The security conditions in Rwanda are marked by tight political control and suppression of dissent, including enforced disappearances, abductions, restrictive trials, and pressure on journalists, alongside concerns about human rights abuses in detention, refugee rights, and Rwanda’s role in supporting armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. A 2023 U.S. State Department report highlighted Rwanda’s harsh and life-threatening prison conditions. 

The U.S.-Rwanda agreement was signed against a background of other diplomatic concerns. The United States recently brokered a critical mineral agreement as well as an agreement with Rwanda over its role in supporting ongoing conflict in the DRC, highlighting the geopolitical dimension of the arrangement.