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“U.S. grateful to Guyana for helping address migration issues” – Ambassador Theriot
…as Afghan, Cuban deportees arrive
(Kaieteur News) – “We’re grateful to Guyana for agreeing to assist us in resolving our migration issues,” U.S. Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot stated, as the United States signalled its appreciation to Guyana for receiving non-citizen deportees under a newly finalised bilateral agreement.
The government has finalised a one-year migration cooperation framework with the United States, under which the country will receive, according to a statement issued on Saturday, limited, vetted group of non-criminals, skilled individuals through the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Assisted Voluntary Return Programme.
The agreement marks the immediate rollout of a temporary third-country deportation mechanism, with an initial cohort of six deportees, four originating from Cuba and two from Afghanistan, arriving in Guyana on Friday.
U.S. Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot
In brief remarks Sunday, Ambassador Theriot said the U.S. has been working on the arrangement with Guyana for many months.
The deal outlines a temporary arrangement for individuals who voluntarily opt for relocation to Guyana while awaiting the final determination of their immigration status. Official government statements detailed that depending on the outcome of their cases, individuals will either return to their country of origin or relocate elsewhere of their choosing. The arrangement operates under strict parameters and does not offer open-ended residency or permanent resettlement.
Under the agreed terms, the United States Government will bear the complete financial burden of the relocation exercise, ensuring Guyana incurs no financial liability. The operational execution of the framework falls directly under the IOM, which will fund and manage reception, housing, basic support, and social integration services, including healthcare, employment supervision, and facilitating contact with legal counsel and family. The IOM confirmed that the arrangement does not transfer any of the state’s official legal duties concerning immigration admission, protection, legal stay, or deportation.
The administration maintained that Guyana holds total sovereignty and retains complete veto power to review and deny any individual put forward by U.S. authorities. Only individuals who explicitly consent to relocate of their own free will, have been denied asylum in the U.S. without wanting to return home, and meet strict non-criminal and skill criteria will be admitted.
Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud confirmed to Al Jazeera that the initial cohort had been vetted by Guyanese authorities and found to have no criminal backgrounds. The Miami Herald quoted Persaud as stating that Guyana reached the agreement after months of discussions dating back to January. He pointed out that Guyana’s position regarding accepting skilled migrants is tied to its ongoing oil boom, which has created an estimated skills gap of 70,000 to 80,000 workers. Persaud added that the U.S. has not made any further requests for third-country deportations to Guyana at this time.
Guyana is the latest of several member states to receive U.S. deportees, joining St. Kitts and Nevis, Belize, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Lucia. Nevis signed a memorandum of understanding to accept non-criminal deportees from CARICOM nations, excluding Haitians, after facing US visa restrictions. Other nations agreeing to third-country deportations include Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, El Salvador, Paraguay, Ghana, Eswatini, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Poland, and Uzbekistan. Reports indicate the Trump administration has approached at least 58 governments, utilising leverage such as tariff concessions or threats of travel bans and diplomat restrictions, while paying ancillary integration expenses.
Human rights activists and organisations such as Amnesty International, Refugees International, and Human Rights First have denounced third-country deportations as inhumane and potentially illegal under international law, noting that many deportees lack ties or language familiarity in destination countries, face severe human rights abuses, or risk unlawful repatriation to places of persecution. Conversely, the Trump Administration has defended the legality and merits of the mechanism under its mass deportation programme, portraying it as a vital national security tool to deter unlawful migration and clear backlogs where home countries refuse repatriation.
According to Congressional Research Service (CRS) documentation dated 24th August, 2026, Kaieteur News understands that third-country removals are authorised under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when return to a home country is “impracticable, inadvisable, or impossible.” The practice operates alongside statutory protections, including Withholding of Removal and the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Following President Trump’s January 2025 Executive Order “Securing our Borders,” DHS expanded third-country designations, prompting ongoing legal challenges. While a federal district court judge vacated DHS’s policy in February 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit granted a stay pending appeal, keeping the policy operational.
Under current ICE procedures, individuals subject to third-country removal receive 24 hours’ notice, or 6 hours in exigent circumstances with legal access, and must proactively express fear of persecution to trigger USCIS screening. Tracking estimates indicate that more than 21,000 individuals have been removed to third countries during the second Trump administration.
President Irfaan Ali’s administration framed the framework as a continuation of Guyana’s international human rights obligations, emphasising that relocated individuals maintain the right to seek international protection where applicable in direct coordination with local civil society bodies, the IOM, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
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58 countries? Those mentioned here are all of colored people, poor, except for
Poland, a white poor country.
Threats of travel ban, diplomatic restrictions, leveraging (illegal) tariffs
concessions utilized by Trump.
Looks like a gun was shown to these poor countries forcing them to accept
non-citizens deportees, including Ali of Guyana.