Burundi has agreed to accept people the United States deports to countries that aren’t their own, becoming the latest African nation to take third-country deportees. The announcement came the same day the U.S. Supreme Court said such deportations could continue while it considers a formal ruling on the policy. Burundi hasn’t said how many people it will receive or when they’ll arrive.
Who Decided
Nancy Ninette Mutoni, a spokesperson for Burundi’s president, told government officials they would have heard the announcement in an interview the president gave to France 24, a French television network. Mutoni said Burundi would accept only people who aren’t facing criminal prosecution and have no links to terrorism. “But he made it clear that Burundi would accept only people who are not facing criminal prosecution and have no links to terrorism,” she said.
The article identified Burundi’s president as Evariste Ndayishimiye. A photograph caption said he spoke at the U.N. General Assembly headquarters on September 23, 2026. Mutoni relayed his announcement, making Burundi a receiving country for people the United States sends somewhere other than their home country.
The Supreme Court action focused on whether third-country deportations could continue before a formal ruling. The court said they could continue for now. Its decision came hours before Burundi announced its agreement, placing the country’s acceptance alongside an ongoing legal dispute over U.S. policy.
Accommodation and Conditions
Mutoni said officials were preparing accommodation and help for deportees settling in local communities. Those arrangements will take serious planning, she said. The spokesperson didn’t give a figure for how many people the agreement covers, an arrival schedule, or further details about preparations.
Mutoni described the agreement as consistent with Burundi’s history of receiving people facing hardship. “Burundi has long-welcomed people facing hardship,” she said. She also said the agreement would strengthen cooperation with other countries. “This will also strengthen cooperation with other countries. People need one another, and Burundi attaches great importance to peace and good relations,” Mutoni said.
The government’s public explanation is clear, but the scale and timing remain unspecified. The United States would send the people covered by the agreement to Burundi, rather than return them to their countries of origin. The article doesn’t say whether officials have made any arrangements with those countries.
U.S. Policy and UN Warning
The Trump administration has expanded third-country deportations as part of its immigration crackdown. It defends the policy as necessary when deportees’ home countries refuse to accept them. Under the policy, deportations can proceed to a country other than a person’s own, if that country agrees and the conditions Mutoni described are met.
A report by U.N. experts warned that sending migrants to countries they don’t come from can have deadly consequences. The experts called for the practice to stop. Their warning sharply conflicts with the administration’s defense, while the Supreme Court has allowed deportations to continue until it issues a formal ruling.
Burundi’s announcement adds another African country to the list of governments accepting third-country deportees from the United States. The government says it will exclude people facing criminal prosecution and those with links to terrorism, but hasn’t disclosed how many deportees those terms cover or when the first arrivals may take place.