KIGALI, Aug 28, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A first group of seven migrants has arrived in Rwanda as part of a deal to accept deportees from the United States, the Rwandan government said Thursday.

Washington is pushing a deportation drive, with President Donald Trump's administration negotiating controversial arrangements to send people to third countries, including South Sudan and Eswatini.

"The first group of seven vetted migrants arrived in Rwanda in mid-August... Three of the individuals have expressed a desire to return to their home countries, while four wish to stay and build lives in Rwanda," government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told AFP.

The authorities offered no information on the nationalities of the seven deportees.

Rwanda said on August 5 that it would accept up to 250 migrants from the United States, stating that it would have "the ability to approve each individual proposed for resettlement".

The first arrivals are "accommodated by an international organisation with visits by the International Organisation on Migration (IOM) and Rwandan social services," Makolo said.

A IOM spokesperson confirmed to AFP they had visited the newly arrived migrants to "assess their basic needs". They did not give any further details.

Rwanda signed a lucrative deal in 2022 to accept unwanted migrants from Britain, only for the agreement to be scrapped when the British government changed hands last year.

Kigali had agreed to the new scheme with Washington because "nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement", Makolo said earlier this month.

Those who arrive in Rwanda will be provided with training, healthcare and accommodation, she added.

However, a Rwandan activist -- who asked for anonymity, given the increasing pressure on civil dissent in the country -- said the deal came down to money and political influence.

"Accepting these deportees also gives Rwanda an advantage in the ongoing peace negotiations regarding the conflict in DRC," they told AFP.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently holding peace talks with the Rwanda-backed M23 militia, which launched a sweeping offensive earlier this year and seized swathes of the country's east.

The Trump administration has defended third-country deportations as necessary, since the home nations sometimes refuse to accept them.

Rights experts have warned the arrangements risk breaking international law by sending people to nations where they face the risk of torture, abduction and other abuses.

Rwanda, home to 13 million people in Africa's Great Lakes region, claims to be one of the most stable countries on the continent and has drawn praise for its modern infrastructure.

But the migrant agreement with Britain drew criticism from rights groups and faced a long-running legal challenge.

President Paul Kagame's government is often accused of rampant human rights violations, crushing political dissent and press freedoms.