As President Donald Trump intensifies his controversial efforts to remove immigrants from the nation, Uganda is the latest of several nations to reach a deportation agreement with the US.
In a statement on Thursday, Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Kampala had agreed for Washington to send over third-country nationals who face deportation from the US, but are unwilling to return to their home countries. According to the ministry, the agreement was reached under a number of conditions.
Trump’s contentious plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants have been condemned by rights organizations and law experts. Those already deported include convicted criminals and “uniquely barbaric monsters”, according to the White House.
Similar agreements have been made between African nations, such as Eswatini, which was formerly known as Swaziland, reportedly in exchange for lower tariffs. According to Melusi Simelane of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), the US’s actions constitute exploitative behavior and amount to “dumping ground” for the continent, adding that Washington was particularly focused on developing nations with weak human rights protection.
Here’s what you need to know about the Uganda deal and what countries might be getting in return for hosting US deportees:
What ratified in Uganda?
The permanent secretary of Uganda’s foreign ministry, Bagiire Vincent Waiswa, claimed in a statement posted on X on Thursday that the nation had a “temporary arrangement” with the US. He did not state the timelines for when the deportations would begin or end.
According to the statement, there are caveats about the people who would be transferred, such as the statement that Uganda “prefers” that Africans be transferred as part of the deal.
The statement continued, “The two parties are putting together the detailed modalities for the implementation of the agreement.”
A US State Department statement confirmed that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had held discussions over the phone regarding “migration, reciprocal trade, and commercial ties”.
After weeks of speculation in the local Ugandan media regarding whether the country would accept US deportees, the deal was announced.
Henry Okello Oryem, the foreign affairs minister in Uganda, refuted the media reports on Wednesday, claiming the country lacks the facilities to house deportees.
Speaking to The Associated Press news agency, Oryem said Uganda was discussing issues of “visas, tariffs, sanctions and related issues” with the US, but not of migration.
“We’re talking about cartels,” said one analyst. How can we incorporate them into Uganda’s local communities? he told the AP.
Uganda’s narrative had changed the day afterward.
What might Uganda gain from this?
What might Uganda be receiving in return was not disclosed in the Foreign Ministry’s statement on Thursday.
Other nations, including Eswatini, reportedly offer deportees lower tariffs.
Uganda has been hit with 15 percent tariffs on goods entering the US, as part of Trump’s reciprocal tariff wars. Early in August, senior government officials in Uganda announced that Kampala would start negotiations for a better deal and that the tariffs would impede exports, particularly in the agricultural sector.
One of Uganda’s most important exports to the US is coffee, vanilla, cocoa, and petroleum products. Kampala is particularly keen on boosting coffee exports to the US and competing with bigger suppliers like Colombia. On the other hand, the US pays an 18% tariff on imported goods to Uganda, which exports machinery, such as aircraft parts.
The US and Uganda have historically forged friendly relations, with US aid arriving in Kampala on a regular basis. However, after Uganda passed an anti-homosexuality bill into law in 2023, relations turned sour, and the US accused Uganda of “human rights violations”. For same-sex relationships, punishment under the law, including life sentences, is imposed.
After that, Washington halted HIV-related aid and imposed visa restrictions on Ugandan government officials who “were complicit in undermining the democratic process.” The US also banned Uganda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade programme that helped African countries trade tariff-free with the US, but that Trump’s tariffs have effectively killed.
Uganda was also prohibited from receiving two-year loans by the World Bank, but this restriction was lifted in June.
Rights activists claim that the deportees’ accord could lead to a more favorable US administration position toward Uganda, but at the expense of those who have been deported.
“The proposed deal runs afoul of international law”, human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo told the AP. According to him, such a system leaves deportees without clear definition of their legal status as refugees or prisoners.
Because of the desire for Uganda to appear in the good books of the United States, Opiyo said, “We are sacrificing human beings for political expediency in this case.” “That I can keep your prisoners if you pay me, how is that different from human trafficking”?
Are refugees already a thing in Uganda?
Yes, Uganda hosts the most refugees in Africa. It already hosts some 1.7 million refugees, largely from neighbouring South Sudan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are all dealing with armed conflict and unrest.
In the past, the country has been praised for having a “progressive refugee policy” and “maintaining an open-door approach to asylum.”
Opposition activists are, however, raising concerns about the government’s poor human rights record. Uganda has been ruled by Museveni since 1986, with his party winning contested elections in landslides. Of course, opposition figures and journalists are frequently the targets of arrests. Some people report being tortured while they are being held.
Speaking to the AP, opposition lawmaker Muwada Nkunyingi said the US deal could give Museveni’s government further Western legitimacy ahead of general elections scheduled for January 2026.
According to Nkunyingi, the agreement “clears their image now that we are about to hold elections in 2026.” He urged the US to take into account what he termed Uganda’s human rights problems.
What other nations has the US sent people there?
Similar agreements have been reached with the US by Eswatini, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
Eswatini, in July, accepted five unnamed men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen.
They were described as “individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,” according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department for Homeland Security. She added that they were sentenced to up to 25 years in prison for crimes ranging from child rape to murder. The men are presently held in detention facilities and will be sent back to their countries, according to officials who did not state a timeline.
The Eswatini government is accused of participating in the deal in exchange for US tariff cuts. The tiny nation, which pays US exports of clothing, fruits, nuts, and raw sugar, received a 10% tariff.
“No country should have to be engaged in the violation of international human rights laws, including breaching its domestic laws, to please the Global North in the name of trade”, Simulane of SALC, who is leading an ongoing court case challenging the Eswatini government’s decision, told Al Jazeera. According to him, the action was in contravention of the nation’s constitution, which requires that parliament approves international agreements.
The agreement should be made public for the public to see if it is in line with our national interest, Simulane said, “at the core.” “We further want the agreement declared unconstitutional because it lacked parliamentary approval”.
South Africa, which borders Eswatini on three sides, summoned the smaller nation’s diplomats earlier in August to raise security concerns.
In July, the US sent eight “barbaric” criminals to South Sudan. The DHS listed them as being from Cuba, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Mexico and South Sudan. According to the DHS, they were found guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, drug trafficking, and sexual assault.
In the US, the men were initially directed to Djibouti for months while a legal challenge was pending. However, in late June, the US Supreme Court approved the move to South Sudan.
Rwanda has also stated that it will deport 250 Americans at an unnamed time. The deportees will enjoy “workforce training, health care, and accommodations,” says government spokesman Yolande Makolo. The country previously struck a controversial migrant deal for a fee with the United Kingdom. However, that agreement was broken when the UK’s new Labour government was elected in 2024.
El Salvador has accepted 300 migrants, primarily from Venezuela, for a $6 million fee.
Costa Rica accepted 200 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, China, Ghana, India and Vietnam. By June, 28 people had already been detained, compared to the majority of those who had been repatriated. What did the US offer in return remain a mystery.
Source: Aljazeera
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