Kosovo agrees to accept U.S. deportations of migrants from other countries
The European country of Kosovo has agreed to a Trump administration request to allow the U.S. to deport a small group of migrants to the landlocked Balkan nation who are not from there, U.S. and Kosovar officials told CBS News.
Officials in Kosovo, Europe's youngest country, agreed to host 50 deportees from other countries, the latest agreement in a broader and aggressive effort by the Trump administration to convince countries around the world to accept migrants who are not their citizens.
In a statement to CBS News, Kosovo's embassy in the U.S. confirmed the deportation agreement.
"In response to the request from the United States regarding the reception and relocation of third-country nationals, we have expressed our willingness to cooperate with the United States in addressing this matter under established conditions," the embassy said.
Kosovo's embassy said the deal would allow 50 deportees from other nations to be "temporarily relocated" to Kosovo, while officials there work to facilitate "their safe return to their home country."
It's unclear who exactly could be sent by the U.S. to Kosovo or which countries they would be from. Typically, the U.S. uses third country deportation agreements to deport migrants whose home countries won't take them back, in some cases because of strained diplomatic relations.
Kosovo's embassy said the government in Pristina would seek "the opportunity to select individuals from a proposed pool, provided they meet specific criteria related to the rule of law and public order."
In a statement to CBS News, the U.S. State Department said, "We welcome cooperation on this key Trump Administration priority."
"We are grateful to our partner Kosovo for receiving third country nationals removed from the United States and facilitating those aliens' safe return to their home countries," the State Department added.
Formerly part of Yugoslavia, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. The country is recognized by more than 100 nations, including the U.S. But other nations do not recognize its independence, including Serbia, which considers Kosovo one of its regions.
Kosovo considers the U.S. one of its strongest allies on the international stage. After the chaotic American military withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, Kosovo agreed to host Afghan evacuees who required extra vetting due to security flags.
Since President Trump began his second term and launched a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration, the U.S. government has approached nations in Asia, Africa, Latin America and other parts of the world, seeking deportation deals.
The second Trump administration has already deported several hundred Asian and African migrants to Costa Rica and Panama. It sent more than 200 Venezuelans accused of gang ties to El Salvador, where they were imprisoned at an infamous mega-prison. And it has tried to deport migrants to violence-torn Libya and South Sudan, though those efforts have been stymied by U.S. courts.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
14 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Israeli Attack on Iran Could Come Within Days, U.S. and Israeli Officials Say
Israel is prepared to attack Iran in the coming days if Tehran rejects a U.S. proposal that would place tough limits on its nuclear program, Trump administration and Israeli officials said. A senior Israeli official warned that a strike could come as soon as Sunday unless Iran agrees to halt production of fissile material that can be used to make an atomic bomb.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Exclusive: Trump administration tells migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela their legal status is terminated
The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday told hundreds of thousands of migrants that their permission to live and work in the United States had been revoked and they should leave the country, according to a copy of the notice obtained by CNN. The termination notice was addressed to nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who came to the United States through a Biden-era parole program. More than half a million people from those four countries benefited from the program, though it's unclear how many have since sought other forms of immigration relief while in the United States. The notice, according to DHS, was sent to email addresses provided by those in the program. 'This notice informs you that your parole is now terminated,' the notice reads. 'If you do not leave, you may be subject to enforcement actions, including but not limited to detention and removal, without an opportunity to make personal arrangements and return to your country in an orderly manner.' The notice also states that work permits linked to the program will be revoked and directs parolees to return those permits to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Thursday's move is the latest step in the Trump administration's aggressive and wide-ranging effort to encourage or force millions of migrants out of the country, whether they are in the U.S. legally or illegally. The Biden administration announced in 2023 that it would grant parole to qualified migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who submitted to review by authorities rather than attempting to enter the country illegally. Applicants were required to have an American sponsor or US-based sponsor who's lawfully present in the country and clear security vetting. The program became a political flashpoint as Republicans argued the administration was misusing parole authority and overreached in establishing the program for those countries. At the time, Biden officials credited the program for driving down border crossings by instead providing a path for migrants to apply to legally migrate to the US. President Donald Trump signed an order on his first day in office seeking to unilaterally end the program. That move prompted legal challenges that eventually made their way to the Supreme Court, which allowed Trump to strip protections for beneficiaries of the parole program. 'Ending the CHNV parole programs, as well as the paroles of those who exploited it, will be a necessary return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety, and a return to America First,' Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told CNN in a statement. Though the emergency decision from the Supreme Court is not final – the underlying legal case will continue in lower courts – the order allowed the administration to expedite deportations for an estimated 530,000 migrants who had previously benefited from the program. The Trump administration told the Supreme Court that its decision to terminate parole status for the migrants at issue was one of the 'most consequential immigration policy decisions' it has made. Lower court orders temporarily blocking its policy, the administration said, upended 'critical immigration policies that are carefully calibrated to deter illegal entry, vitiating core executive branch prerogatives, and undoing democratically approved policies that featured heavily in the November election.' This article has been updated with additional developments. CNN's Devan Cole and John Fritze contributed to this report.
New York Times
17 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump Administration Sues New York Over Law Barring ICE From Courthouses
The Trump administration sued New York on Thursday over a state law that largely blocks immigration agents from conducting arrests in state or local courthouses, arguing that the measure is an unconstitutional effort to stymie immigration enforcement efforts. Lawmakers in New York passed the law in 2020 as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers escalated arrests of undocumented immigrants at state and local courts during President Trump's first term. The measure — which says law enforcement officers can arrest people at or near courthouses only if the officers have a court order or criminal warrant signed by a judge — makes it harder for ICE to conduct immigration arrests, which are civil matters. Pam Bondi, the attorney general, cast the state law as a left-wing measure that shielded criminals and endangered public safety. The lawsuit came four months after Ms. Bondi, in one of her first moves, sued New York over another state law that allows undocumented immigrants to get a driver's license. 'Lawless sanctuary city policies are the root cause of the violence that Americans have seen in California, and New York State is similarly employing sanctuary city policies to prevent illegal aliens from apprehension,' Ms. Bondi said in a statement. 'This latest lawsuit in a series of sanctuary city litigation underscores the Department of Justice's commitment to keeping Americans safe and aggressively enforcing the law.' The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Albany, is the latest move by the Trump administration in its quest to topple local policies that it argues are unlawfully interfering with its widening immigration crackdown. The White House is looking to force more cooperation from states and cities that are dominated by Democratic officials. Many of those states have large immigrant populations and have passed so-called sanctuary laws that restrict how much local officials can engage with federal immigration authorities. The administration has already sued some sanctuary jurisdictions, including Chicago; threatened to charge local officials who resist immigration enforcement; and recently released a list of nearly 400 localities it says are interfering with immigration enforcement actions. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
