In the first major implementation of a bilateral migration agreement struck between Washington and Kampala last year, eight migrants hailing from different African nations have been transferred and deported from the United States to Uganda. Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in an official statement that the group touched down on Ugandan soil Wednesday, after a U.S. federal judge signed off on the approval of their deportation cases.
Under the terms of the 2024 agreement, Uganda was formally designated a “safe third country” for migrants who are unable to return to their home countries, most commonly due to documented persecution or violence that prevents safe resettlement there. The deal forms a core pillar of the Donald Trump administration’s hardline immigration enforcement agenda, which the president has ramped up across the board since launching his second term in office.
Uganda’s foreign ministry noted that it cannot release detailed personal information about the eight deportees to protect their privacy. In its statement, the department reaffirmed the East African nation’s long-standing tradition of hosting vulnerable displaced people, adding that “Uganda continues to uphold its longstanding commitment to providing sanctuary to persons in need and assuring they are treated with dignity.” It also clarified that none of the transferred individuals hold Ugandan or U.S. citizenship; they are African-born migrants who were denied asylum status in the U.S. and were unwilling or unable to return to their countries of origin. According to CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. partner, Uganda agreed to take in these deported migrants on the condition that none have a prior criminal record, a stipulation that differs from U.S. third-country deportation policy that often sends convicted migrants to partner nations.
The deportation move has already sparked sharp condemnation from legal and human rights groups within Uganda and internationally. The Uganda Law Society, the country’s apex legal professional body, has publicly denounced the transfers, arguing that the process by which the migrants were brought to Uganda was “undignified, harrowing and dehumanising.” The organization has formally called the entire transfer process unlawful and confirmed it intends to challenge the agreement and the deportation in Ugandan courts. Global human rights campaigners have also echoed this criticism, raising long-standing questions about the legal standing of the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy, which has already seen dozens of undocumented migrants sent to partner nations since the current administration took office in January 2025.
Uganda is not the only African nation participating in this program: Eswatini, Ghana, and South Sudan have also joined the U.S. as third-country safe haven destinations for deported migrants. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, has yet to issue a public comment on this first deportation under the Uganda agreement, following a request for statement from the BBC.