World

Uganda agrees on deal with US to take deported migrants

By AAP Newswire

Aug 21, 2025

An immigration arrest in Los Angeles, California — The Trump administration is trying to persuade other countries to help in its immigration crackdown. -AP

Uganda has agreed to a deal with the United States to take deported migrants on condition that the deportees should not have criminal records and not be unaccompanied minors, officials say.Â

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The Ugandan foreign affairs ministry said the "two parties are working out the detailed modalities on how the agreement shall be implemented".

Uganda also expressed a preference that those brought into the country should be of African nationalities.

It was not clear if the agreement had been signed but the ministry statement said it had been "concluded".

International Relations Minister Henry Okello Oryem told The Associated Press that while Uganda was known globally for its benevolent refugee policy, there were limits.

And he questioned why the country would take people rejected by their own countries.

"We are talking about cartels: people who are unwanted in their own countries. How can we integrate them into local communities in Uganda?" he said.

He said the government was in discussions about "visas, tariffs, sanctions, and related issues, not accepting illegal aliens from the US. That would be unfair to Ugandans."

In July, the US deported five men with criminal backgrounds to the southern African kingdom of Eswatini and sent eight more to South Sudan.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press