By Ebi Kesiena
Burkina Faso’s military government has turned down a United States request to accept deported migrants, describing the proposal as “indecent” and disrespectful.
The decision marks a sharp rebuff to one of President Donald Trump’s renewed migration policies, which seeks to deport individuals to third countries, often nations with which they have no ties, as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown.
While several African countries, including Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda and South Sudan, have recently agreed to take in people expelled from the US, Burkina Faso has drawn a firm line.
Speaking on national television late on Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore said, “Naturally, this proposal, which we considered indecent at the time, runs completely contrary to the principle of dignity.”
Earlier in the day, the US embassy in Ouagadougou announced that it would suspend regular visa services for most applicants in Burkina Faso. Burkinabe citizens will now have to process their visa applications in Lome, the capital of neighbouring Togo.
Reacting to the move, Traore questioned Washington’s motives. “Is this a way to put pressure on us? Is this blackmail? Whatever it is… Burkina Faso is a place of dignity, a destination, not a place of expulsion,” he said.
Under Captain Ibrahim Traore’s leadership, Burkina Faso has pursued a fiercely independent and anti-Western stance. Since seizing power in a coup in September 2022, the young leader has distanced the country from France and its Western allies, instead strengthening ties with Russia as part of his wider Pan-African and anti-imperialist agenda.
