Burundi Becomes One of 6 African Nations Taking US Deportees

Burundi has agreed to accept migrants deported from the United States who are citizens of other countries, joining roughly six African nations drawn into Washington's "third-country" removal program, according to The Guardian, citing Reuters.

What did Burundi announce, and when?

On Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2026, Nancy Ninette Mutoni, spokesperson for President Évariste Ndayishimiye, confirmed that Burundi would take deportees sent from the US who are not citizens of Burundi, the Guardian reported. The announcement gave no figures on how many people would arrive, no timetable, and no financial terms.

Who will Burundi refuse to accept?

Mutoni said Burundi will only take people who are not accused of crime or terrorism links, according to the Guardian. The spokesperson did not say how Burundi would verify those exclusions or who would make that determination.

How many other countries are already taking these deportees?

Washington has sent third-country deportees to about half a dozen African nations, plus numerous other countries, often places where the deportees have no ties and have never set foot, the Guardian reported. Senate Democrats say the arrangements have cost tens of millions of dollars, according to the same report. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Burundi deal.

Does this bypass US court protections?

Many deportees sent under these deals had already won legal protection from US immigration courts against being returned to their home countries, the Guardian reported. Rights groups say the third-country arrangements let the US route around those court orders by sending people to a different nation entirely rather than repatriating them.

What is Burundi getting, and what's still unresolved?

Mutoni said Burundi is working out housing, food, and "integration into local communities" for arriving deportees, telling the Guardian: "Receiving them requires serious planning — where they will stay, what they will eat and how they will live alongside the local population." She framed the deal as a way to strengthen diplomatic ties while extending "hospitality to people in need." On the question of citizenship, she said anyone who wants to join Burundian society and contribute to the country's development would be treated "within the law." Burundi's foreign ministry said details of the agreement were not yet available, the Guardian reported.

By the numbers

• ~6: African nations, including Burundi, now accepting third-country deportees from the US, per Reuters reporting carried by the Guardian.
• Tens of millions of dollars: the cost Senate Democrats attribute to the broader third-country deportation deals, according to the Guardian.

No dollar figure specific to the Burundi agreement, and no deportee count, has been released by either government.