Seven immigrants deported from the United States have arrived in Rwanda, the first of 250 to be traded by African countries under a deal with President Donald Trump’s administration.

“The first group of seven reviewers arrived in Rwanda in mid-August,” said Yolande Makolo, a spokesman for the Rwandan government.

She provided no details about her nationality, explaining only that four of them would remain in Rwanda, with three choosing to return to their home country.

Rights groups warn that if people are sent to countries that are subject to torture or other ill-treatment, it could be violated by international law.

Trump has been focusing on a detailed massive deportation program, and has evacuated undocumented immigrants from the United States since his second term began in January.

So far, at least a dozen countries have agreed to accept deported immigrants from other countries.

“Whatever their specific needs are, all of these people will receive proper support and protection from the Rwandan government,” Ms Makolo tells Rwanda’s pro-government new era news website.

She added that deported people are accommodated by “international organizations” and will visit the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Rwanda Social Services.

An IOM spokesman confirmed to AFP that it has seen immigrants “evaluate their basic needs” without providing more details.

Earlier this month, Ms Makolo told the BBC that Rwanda was continuing the deal because “almost every Rwanda has experienced the difficulties of displacement”.

Rwanda experienced genocide in the mid-1990s – despite criticism of its human rights record, the government has been keen to help other immigrants and keep them safe.

According to an agreement reached six years ago with the United Nations refugee agencies and the African Union, Nearly 3,000 refugees and asylum seekers trapped in Libya were evacuated from Rwanda from September 2019 to April 2025. Many of them were subsequently relocated elsewhere, the United Nations said.

Rwanda reached an agreement with the UK to reach an agreement with the Conservative government in 2022 to accept asylum seekers.

But the UK canceled the planAfter Sir Keir Starmer’s Labor government took office in July last year, it faced many legal challenges.

The UK has paid Rwanda £240 million (US$310 million) and has even built places to provide accommodation for asylum seekers. It is not clear what happened to these facilities.

It is not clear whether there are financial factors in Rwanda’s recent transactions.

In June, Trump’s administration oversight A peace agreement reached between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Washington As part of an ongoing peace process, it aims to end the region’s thirty years of instability.

Kigali is accused of supporting the M23 rebel group involved in the conflict between the doctors in the neighboring Congo, an allegation it denies.