The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is pressuring Serbia and other Balkan states to take in migrants deported from the U.S., Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the negotiations.
Demands to Balkan countries to accept expelled migrants from the U.S. are ongoing and part of a broader strategy to find foreign governments willing to receive migrants, including those who entered the U.S. under Joseph Biden’s protection, a Bloomberg source stated, wishing to remain anonymous because the discussions were private.
Regional departments of the State Department have been tasked with proposing this idea to foreign governments, the source said.
Bloomberg states that it is currently unknown whether any agreement has been reached regarding the reception of migrants.
The White House declined to comment on the allegations. The State Department did not comment on the case, and Bloomberg writes that Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić also did not respond when journalists contacted him on Wednesday.
In May, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to revoke the temporary legal status for half a million people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The administration is seeking possible destinations for migrants from these countries, the source said.
The Wall Street Journal reported in April that the U.S. was exploring options to send deportees to the Balkans, with Kosovo and Moldova being considered, as well as other locations worldwide.
Bloomberg notes that Serbia, which was not previously seen as a potential destination for deported migrants, is significant to the Trump family for other reasons.
The report recalls that a Trump Tower will be built in Belgrade, with its construction being invested by a firm co-founded by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
The Trump Organization reached an agreement for the project to be carried out under his license, Bloomberg states, recalling that the U.S. President handed over control of the Trump Organization to his elder sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
Bloomberg writes that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić balances between East and West, and that he is an ardent admirer of Trump, maintaining ties with the MAGA movement even when Trump was out of power, and was among the first to congratulate him on his election victory in a phone call that Elon Musk answered.
Donald Trump’s eldest son has visited Serbia multiple times, and his special envoy Richard Grenell has been decorated in Serbia. During his last visit to Serbia in April, Trump Jr. had dinner with Vučić.
Bloomberg writes that an agreement to accept deported migrants would not be unprecedented in the region. It adds that a similar agreement was reached between Italy and Albania, as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pressured Balkan countries to establish migrant centers for all those stopped at sea attempting to reach Europe from Africa.
The agreement stipulated that Italy would finance these centers. However, the arrangement has encountered obstacles and legal battles before the Italian court.
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