Uganda has agreed to receive an unspecified number of African migrants who are being deported from the United States.
According to a statement issued by Bagiire Vincent Waiswa, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the arrangement is part of ongoing bilateral cooperation between Uganda and the U.S.
“As part of this cooperation, an agreement on the examination of protection requests was concluded,” the statement reads.
The agreement applies to third-country nationals who may not be granted asylum in the United States but are either unwilling or unable to return to their countries of origin.
This is a temporary arrangement with specific conditions. Individuals with criminal records and unaccompanied minors will not be accepted, while Uganda has indicated preference that only migrants from African countries be transferred. Both parties are currently working out the modalities for implementation.
Since returning to the White House in January, President Trump has pledged to carry out the largest domestic deportation exercise in U.S. history. Deportations have already been reported to countries such as El Salvador, Brazil, and Haiti, and in Africa to South Sudan, Lesotho, and Eswatini.
The U.S. embassy in Kampala declined to comment on what it described as “private diplomatic negotiations.”
