An Iraqi man was the first immigrant the U.S. deported to Rwanda in a new supposed Trump administration arrangement.
The U.S. deported Omar Abdulsattar Ameen earlier this month, after he lived in the U.S. since at least 2014, when he was granted refugee status, Reuters reported Thursday.
The Handbasket, an independent news outlet, broke the story after publishing a U.S. State Department cable detailing the new deportation program.
Under the supposed agreement, Rwanda would serve as a “Third Party Nation” receiving immigrants whom the U.S. couldn’t deport to their home countries.
Ameen was the first to be deported in this new agreement, but at least 10 more immigrants are expected to go in the same way, according to The Handbasket.
In a March cable, the American Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, announced that the African nation was willing to accept America’s deportees. A second cable on Tuesday confirmed Ameen’s successful deportation.
“Rwanda’s primary motivation for accepting Mr. Amen and subsequent TCNs [Third Country Nationals] is to improve U.S. relations and show it can advance the America First agenda,” the U.S. embassy cable read.
The U.S. reportedly paid Rwanda “a one-time payment of $100,000 to support social services, residency documents, and work permits,” which the country requested.
Accused Islamic State fighter had been living in Sacramento after being accepted into the US as a refugee. https://t.co/eGqERp5aYz pic.twitter.com/pDwPRoQL9u
— KCBS 106.9 FM/740 AM (@KCBSRadio) August 17, 2018
Should Rwanda be the destination for all migrants who cannot be returned to their country of origin?
In 2014, Ameen was granted refugee status in the U.S. after facing Iraqi charges that he murdered a policeman in an ISIS plot.
In 2018 the Trump administration detained Ameen and tried to extradite him to Iraq, where he would stand trial.
But in 2021 a federal judge ruled that the case against him was “not plausible” and ordered his release, according to Reuters.
It was during the Biden administration, however, that Ameen was detained once again by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Reportedly, Ameen hadn’t disclosed in his refugee application his connection to a terrorist organization.
He had been detained by ICE ever since, according to The Handbasket.
The U.S. State Department has declined to comment on Ameen’s case, Reuters reported.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security or the Rwanda government’s spokesman has responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
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