Liberia, Monrovia – The Trump administration pressed five African presidents this week to take over immigrants from other countries when they were deported by the US, two debated officials told Reuters on July 10.
The plan was presented to the presidents of Liberia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Gabon during his visit to the White House on July 9th.
The White House and official spokesmen from five countries did not respond to requests for comment. It was not immediately clear whether any of the countries agreed to the plan.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has
Press to speed up forced extremism
including sending immigrants to third countries.
On July 5, eight immigrants from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Sudan and Vietnam arrived in the South Sudan capital after they lost a legal battle to stop the relocation, according to their lawyers.
The July 9 meeting at the White House was partially organized to talk about deportation plans, U.S. officials said.
The Liberian government was “prepared to detain” efforts to detain immigrants in the capital Monrovia, US officials added.
Liberian officials confirmed that the deportation plan was the focus of the July 9 meeting, but did not say whether Liberian President Joseph Boachey agreed to it.
The Wall Street Journal reported on July 9 that an internal State Department document sent to the African government prior to the meeting called for third nations to agree to a “dorable, safe, and timely relocation from the United States.”
Under the proposed plan, the government agrees not to send immigrants “to their country or to their former country of residence” “until a final decision is made or until a final decision is made,” according to the report.
Reuters could not confirm the contents as they had not seen a copy of the State Department's documents.
In a public comment at the July 9 meeting, Trump told five leaders he was changing the US approach to Africa.
From aid to trade
and the US was a better partner than China.
“We hope that we can reduce the high fees for those who are overstaying visas and advance the safe third-party agreement,” Trump added.
He was accompanied by Massad Boulos, a senior adviser to Africa, and aide Stephen Miller, a hardline immigrant. Reuters
