Vincent Bagiire, permanent secretary in Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement on X that the understanding covers “Third Country Nationals who may not be granted asylum in the United States, but are reluctant to or may have concerns about returning to their countries of origin.”


Map of Uganda

According to him, the arrangement is temporary and excludes “individuals with criminal records and unaccompanied minors.” He further disclosed that Uganda prefers the migrants sent to its territory to come mainly from African countries.

Uganda, under Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power for nearly four decades, already accommodates Africa’s largest refugee population, more than 1.7 million people according to UN figures. Many of them fled conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UN refugee agency has often described Uganda’s asylum policy as “progressive” because of its open-door stance, but the country has been overwhelmed by fresh arrivals, especially after Sudan’s civil war escalated in 2024.

Kampala’s confirmation came just a day after officials had denied knowledge of any such pact with Washington. The announcement follows Rwanda’s recent decision to also take in up to 250 migrants rejected by the US, though details of Kigali’s deal remain unclear.

South Sudan had earlier accepted a group of eight deported migrants from the US, most of whom were not South Sudanese nationals.

Since returning to the White House in January, Donald Trump has pushed policies aimed at accelerating the removal of undocumented migrants. Hundreds of Venezuelan gang suspects have already been deported under his watch, many of whom were first kept in poor prison conditions in El Salvador before being flown back to Venezuela.

Human rights advocates have criticised these deportation deals, warning that they could breach international law by sending people to countries where they might face torture, abduction, or other abuses.