Kosovo accepts a request to shelter third-country migrants from the U.S.

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo said on Wednesday it has agreed to a request from the United States to temporarily accept up to 50 third-country migrants a year, according to the government press office.

The Balkan country’s government said “over the course of a year, up to fifty individuals may be temporarily relocated, with the aim of facilitating their safe return to their home country,” in response to a question from The Associated Press.

Immediately upon taking office in January, President Trump started plans for mass deportation to make good on campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration.

It was not clear when Washington made the request or whether it made similar requests to other countries in the region.

Kosovo’s government praised the United States as a “steadfast ally” and hailed the two countries’ decades-long partnership and “shared values.” It said it will “select individuals from a proposed pool, provided they meet specific criteria related to the rule of law and public order.”

“We hold [U.S.] support in very high regard, especially as we work toward integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions,” it said in a statement.

There are ongoing protests in the United States driven by anger over Trump’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are tearing apart migrant families.

A U.S.-led 78-day NATO air campaign ended the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo that left around 11,400 people dead. The intervention stopped the Serb forces’ crackdown on ethnic Albanians and pushed Serbian forces and authorities out of Kosovo.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Most Western nations recognize its sovereignty, but Serbia and its allies Russia and China do not.

Zhinipotoku and Semini write for the Associated Press. Semini reported from Tirana, Albania.