The Trump administration made a $7.5 million payment to the government of Equatorial Guinea as it seeks to deport people to the West African country and draws closer to its heavily prosecuted leaders, according to the top Democratic senator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, said in a letter sent Monday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that “this highly unusual payment raises serious concerns over the responsible, transparent use of American taxpayer dollars."
Shaheen said in her letter that the $7.5 million payment stood out because it would would “far exceed the amount of US foreign assistance provided over the last 8 years combined” to the country.
The payment, made from a fund for migration and refugee assistance, would be the first government-to-government transfer from that account, which was set up by Congress to respond to humanitarian crises. She questioned whether the payment was a permissible use of the money.
The US State Department declined to comment on the details of diplomatic communications, but said, “Implementing the Trump Administration’s immigration policies is a top priority for the Department of State. As Secretary Rubio has said, we remain unwavering in our commitment to end illegal and mass immigration and bolster America’s border security.”
The Trump administration, in aiming to ramp up deportations, has sought to forge agreements with countries to take in migrants who are not their citizens. Immigration advocacy groups have criticized the “third country” policy as a reckless tactic.
Besides deportations, the US is trying to counter Chinese influence in Equatorial Guinea and boost American oil and gas business interests there.
