Uganda has reportedly agreed to accept an unspecified number of deportees, provided they do not have criminal records
Uganda has agreed a deal with Washington to host migrants from third countries who are being deported from the US, CBS reported on Tuesday, citing internal official documents.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has pursued third-country resettlement deals to deport asylum seekers as part of a wider crackdown on illegal immigration, despite criticism and protests.
The agreement with Uganda, according to CBS, will see the East African country accept an unspecified number of African and Asian deportees who had claimed asylum on the US-Mexico border “as long as they don’t have criminal histories.”
A separate deal between Washington and Honduras will reportedly allow the Central American nation to receive several-hundred deportees from Spanish-speaking countries. According to the outlet, Honduras has agreed to a “relatively small number of deportations – just several hundred over two years,” although documents suggest it could accept more.
At least a dozen countries have reportedly accepted or agreed to take in deportees who are not their own citizens. Earlier this month, Uganda’s neighbor Rwanda struck a deal with the White House to accept up to 250 deportees in return for a US grant. Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said Kigali would “approve each individual proposed for resettlement.”
In July, the US Department of Homeland Security deported five “barbaric criminals” to Eswatini, weeks after sending eight others to conflict-torn South Sudan. Details of the agreements with both countries have not been disclosed. The White House earlier revoked all visas for South Sudanese passport holders and suspended new issuances, saying the measure could be reviewed once the country fully cooperates in accepting deported nationals.
Nigeria has declared it will not accept foreign deportees from the US. Yusuf Tuggar, the foreign minister of Africa’s most populous nation, accused the Trump administration of using visa restrictions and tariff hikes to pressure African countries into accepting migrants, including “some straight out of prisons.”
Washington has imposed travel sanctions on several Ugandan officials over alleged corruption and human rights abuses following Kampala’s passage of an anti-gay law in 2023, and removed the country from the duty-free African Growth and Opportunity Act trade initiative.
