Keypoints:
- Uganda rejects role in US deportations
- No facilities to host foreign migrants
- Already shelters nearly two million refugees
UGANDA has strongly denied reports from the United States suggesting it had agreed to receive migrants deported from Washington, insisting it has neither the capacity nor the agreement in place to take them.
CBS News reported on Tuesday that the US had reached arrangements with Uganda and Honduras to accept deported migrants as part of President Donald Trump’s pledge to accelerate removals. The report cited internal US government documents outlining the plans.
Foreign ministry dismisses deal
Okello Oryem, Uganda’s state minister for foreign affairs, told Reuters by text message on Wednesday that the country was not party to any such deal.
‘To the best of my knowledge we have not reached such an agreement,’ Oryem said. ‘We do not have the facilities and infrastructure to accommodate such illegal immigrants in Uganda.’
The US network reported that the alleged arrangements relied on a provision in US immigration law allowing asylum-seekers to be redirected to third countries if deemed capable of handling claims fairly.
Trump’s wider deportation drive
President Trump has repeatedly vowed to deport millions of undocumented migrants. His administration has sought to widen the scope of removals, even exploring options to send convicted criminals to countries such as South Sudan and Eswatini.
If confirmed, the deals with Uganda and Honduras would have represented a further expansion of this approach, shifting asylum responsibilities onto foreign partners.
Uganda already overwhelmed with refugees
Uganda remains one of the world’s leading refugee-hosting countries and a key US ally in East Africa. It currently shelters nearly two million refugees and asylum-seekers, the majority fleeing wars and unrest in neighbouring states including the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Sudan.
Officials argue that this burden makes it impossible to accept additional responsibilities linked to deportations from outside Africa.
By rejecting the report, Uganda has highlighted the difficulties facing Washington’s deportation policy, which depends heavily on the cooperation of third countries already under immense refugee pressure.
