Uganda to take US deportees with no criminal record

Uganda has reached an agreement with the United States to accept deported migrants, provided they are not unaccompanied minors and have no criminal records, according to Arab News via Associated Press on August 21st. 

A statement from Uganda’s foreign ministry said the “two parties are working out the detailed modalities on how the agreement shall be implemented.” Ugandan authorities also expressed a preference for deportees to be of African origin.

While it was unclear whether the deal had been formally signed, the ministry said it had been “concluded.”

Henry Okello Oryem, International Relations Minister, told reporters that although Uganda has a reputation for generosity toward refugees, there are limits. He also questioned why Uganda should accept people turned away 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 asked. He stressed that government talks with Washington are focused on “visas, tariffs, sanctions, and related issues, not accepting illegal aliens from the US. That would be unfair to Ugandans.”

The announcement comes after the US deported five men with criminal records to Eswatini in July and another eight to South Sudan. 

Reports earlier this year also revealed more aggressive measures being considered by Washington. In June, the Trump administration was preparing to transfer thousands of undocumented migrants to the Guantanamo Bay naval base. In May, other reports suggested plans to charter military flights to Libya for deportations.

These moves form part of a wider crackdown on immigration under President Donald Trump, coinciding with deep cuts to US foreign aid. The reductions threaten to hit countries such as Uganda, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which rely heavily on American assistance to combat diseases like malaria.

Arab News via associated press, Maghrebi.org