Kampala: Uganda has agreed to receive an unspecified number of African migrants who are being deported from the United States under a temporary bilateral arrangement between the two countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the development in a statement issued by Permanent Secretary Mr. Bagiire Vincent Waiswa, noting that the arrangement is part of ongoing cooperation with Washington.
“As part of this cooperation, an agreement on the examination of protection requests was concluded,” the statement read in part. The deal applies to third-country nationals who may be denied asylum in the United States but are unwilling or unable to return to their countries of origin.
According to the government, the arrangement is temporary and subject to specific conditions. Uganda will not accept individuals with criminal records or unaccompanied minors, and has further indicated a preference that only migrants from African countries be transferred. Officials from both countries are still working on the modalities of implementation.
The agreement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes ahead with what he has described as the largest domestic deportation exercise in American history. Deportations have already been carried out to countries in Latin America, including El Salvador, Brazil, and Haiti, and several African states such as South Sudan, Lesotho, and Eswatini.
When contacted, the U.S. embassy in Kampala declined to provide details, describing the discussions as “private diplomatic negotiations.”
