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The agreement, which is small in scope but strategically significant, takes the U.S. a step further on the path of immigration enforcement. A State Department spokesman thanked Kosovo for cooperating, and called the move "a key Trump Administration priority."
Kosovo aspires to Host to Boost its Economy
One of the poorest countries in Europe — only ahead of Ukraine and Georgia — Kosovo is rumored to be willing to enter into such deals as a revenue source, and Mr. Haradinaj has reportedly been open to the idea. No official monetary details were included in the U.S. hosting deal, but previous such agreements have included development aid or other support in exchange for hosting rights with European countries.
Kosovo's agreement comes after reports that the U.S. has approached other Balkan countries, including Serbia, to accept deportees as well. Such migrants could be from countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, particularly in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court recently providing a green light for ending Temporary Protected Status for more than 500,000 migrants.
A Wider Trend of Deportee Hosting Agreements
This deal follows other migration-related agreements that include Kosovo. In 2022, the country signed an agreement with Denmark to receive 300 foreign criminals who are set to be deported once their sentences are finished. More recently, Britain examined taking failed asylum seekers to such "return hubs" in eight other Balkan countries, as well as Kosovo, an official there said.
Kosovo's move may provide a stopgap solution for the U.S. on its logistics of deportations, but it is likely to trigger discussions on human rights, transparency and the morality of outsourcing immigration enforcement.
