The Ugandan government has confirmed receiving the first US deportees under 2025 Safe Third Country Deal.
The group of eight people consists of third-country nationals reportedly from Africa whose US asylum claims were rejected.
Uganda agreed in July 2025 to process such cases selectively, excluding criminals and minors while prioritizing Africans.
“The Agreement conforms to Uganda’s national laws and international obligations. As the Ministry clarified after the agreement was signed, it is in respect of third country nationals or individuals who are neither citizens of Uganda nor the USA, but of African origin, who may not be granted asylum in the USA and are reluctant to or may have concerns about returning to their countries of origin,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, Vincent Bagiire Waiswa.
According to him, the Safe Third Country Agreement takes into account both Governments’ international obligations, including the principle of non-refoulement that guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and which applies to all migrants, irrespective of their migration status.
“It is therefore on this basis that the Government of Uganda, having been considered a safe third country, reviewed and accepted a proposal from the Government of the USA to cooperate in the examination of protection requests of individuals who may be removed from the USA. For emphasis, these individuals are neither Ugandan nor American, but of African origin.” Mr Bagiire added.
Mr Mr Bagiire said the eight deportees cases had been reviewed and approved by a USA immigration judge before they arrived in Uganda from the US on April 1, 2026.
“’Their protection requests will be handled. Due to privacy reasons, their details may not be disclosed. Uganda continues to uphold its longstanding commitment to providing sanctuary to persons in need and ensuring that they are treated with dignity,’ Mr Bagiire added in a Friday statement.
The development has stirred debate among Ugandans, especially on social media, with supporters of the deal describing it as shared responsibility, while critics including the Uganda Law Society (ULS) challenged it as illegal and secretive, citing capacity strains and local human rights concerns.
In mid-2025, the US government under President Donald Trump started implementing an expanded deportation strategy known as third country removals to deport non- citizens to countries other than their nation of origin.
This strategy, according to Mr Trump is aimed at accelerating the removal of undocumented migrants, particularly those with criminal backgrounds whose home countries refuse to accept them back, as well as individuals deemed uniquely barbaric.
The US has also signed such agreements with other countries like Rwanda, South Sudan, Eswatini, and Honduras to receive deportees from the USA.
The policy has been however heavily criticized by human rights organizations with some critics describing it as turning African nations into a dumping ground.
A federal lawsuit in March 2025 challenged these removals as a violation of US immigration laws, although the Supreme Court later cleared it.
The US had in 2025 began deportations of such individuals to Central American countries, Rwanda, South Sudan and Eswatini.
Museveni hails trump on deportation
Early this year, President Museveni thanked Mr Trump for his mass deportation programme that has already seen thousands of immigrants, including Ugandans, sent packing. Mr Museveni, who described migrants as wanderers, said deportations will teach the immigrants a lesson to stay in their countries and create jobs out of the numerous opportunities.
“I like Mr Trump myself. He has said ‘don’t come here to America.’ I said thank you so much for chasing those wanderers. What are they going to do in America? I don’t want to go anywhere. Why are you going? So I love Trump for chasing you, people who don’t want their countries, who are always going wowo all over the place,” Mr Museveni said during his campaign rally in Arua City on January 9, 2026.
The Trump administration has intensified deportations and also issued Visa restrictions to foreigners travelling to the US. Ugandans are among the countries the US slapped with Visa bonds. Uganda immigrants in the US are also facing deportation.