Photo by Aboodi Vesakaran in Unsplash
The Republic of Kosovo has agreed to accept immigrants deported from the United States, originating from other countries. In a statement shared with CBS NEWS, the embassy of the young Balkan country in the United States confirmed this news:
“In response to the United States' request regarding the reception and resettlement of nationals from developing countries, we have expressed our willingness to cooperate with the United States to address this issue under established conditions.”
Kosovo has agreed to temporarily host 50 immigrants deported from the United States. The country's embassy assures that Kosovar authorities will facilitate the "safe return" of the immigrants to their countries of origin.
With this announcement, the Republic of Kosovo joins Panama and El Salvador as one of the countries that have agreed to accept immigrants deported from the United States. Other countries, such as Rwanda and Libya, continue to negotiate with the Trump administration to potentially join this effort.
The Republic of Kosovo
The Republic of Kosovo is a landlocked country with partial diplomatic recognition. It is located in the Balkan region of southwestern Europe, sharing borders with Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.
Currently, around 80 United Nations states, including Serbia, do not recognize the Republic of Kosovo as a sovereign country. The United States was the second country to recognize Kosovo's sovereignty, and the two countries have maintained good diplomatic relations since then.
Countries that have accepted deported immigrants
Since Donald Trump's inauguration earlier this year, the United States government has begun talks with several countries around the world to propose accepting deported immigrants. Among these countries, Panama, El Salvador, and to some extent Honduras and Costa Rica have accepted the proposal.
Panama was the first country to accept deported immigrants. quickly united by Honduras and Costa Rica, who agreed to act as stopovers for flights transporting immigrants deported from the United States to other detention centers.
Of these centers, the most notable is the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador. The CECOT was established by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in 2023 and is currently the largest prison in Latin America.
In April of this year, Bukele received 238 immigrants deported of the United States, and detained them at the CECOT. This action generated controversy worldwide, emphasized by several reports of human rights abuses against prisoners at the CECOT.
The use of "third" countries to detain immigrants deported from the United States continues to raise concerns and worries in the international community. Kosovo is the latest country to join this effort, but there is no guarantee it will be the last.
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