By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia has agreed to pay the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru A$2.5 billion ($1.62 billion) over three decades to host deported non-citizens, with accommodation for the first deportees already prepared, Australian officials said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left government is expected to pass a law on Thursday making it easier to deport non-citizens to third countries, reviving criticism from human rights groups that it was "dumping" refugees in small island states and drawing comparisons with U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

Australia signed a deal last Friday with Nauru to resettle people who have been denied refugee visas because of criminal convictions. The United States is seeking Pacific Island nations

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