Burkina Faso has refused to accept deportees from the United States, dismissing Washington’s proposal as an affront to national dignity and a form of political pressure.

The West African nation’s decision marks a rare challenge to one of President Donald Trump’s key immigration policies since his return to the White House. The US administration has intensified efforts to deport migrants to third countries, including nations they have little or no ties with.

While other African states such as Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan have recently accepted US deportees, Burkina Faso said it would not do the same.

“Naturally, this proposal, which we considered indecent at the time, runs completely contrary to the principle of dignity,” Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore said in a televised statement on Thursday.

The announcement came shortly after the US embassy in Ouagadougou suspended visa services for most applicants in Burkina Faso, citing operational reasons. Traore, however, accused Washington of using the move as leverage.

“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 added.

The embassy said Burkinabe citizens seeking consular services will now be redirected to Lome, the capital of neighbouring Togo.

Since seizing power in September 2022, Burkina Faso’s military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, has pursued a fiercely anti-imperialist foreign policy, cutting ties with former colonial power France and strengthening relations with Russia.

TRT