Uganda reaches agreement with US to take in some failed asylum seekers

Source: The Guardian

Uganda reaches agreement with US to take in some failed asylum seekers

African country’s foreign ministry says the two states are working on the details of a deal over deportees

Rachel Savage
Thu 21 Aug 2025 13.31 BST
First published on Thu 21 Aug 2025 10.10 BST

Uganda has reached an agreement with the US to take in deportees from third countries who may not get asylum but are “reluctant” to go back to their own countries, according to Uganda’s foreign ministry.

The country will not accept people with criminal records or unaccompanied minors under the temporary arrangement, ​​the Ugandan foreign ministry’s permanent secretary said in a statement. He did not say whether Uganda was receiving any payment or other benefits and how many deportees it would accept.

“Uganda also prefers that individuals from African countries shall be the ones transferred to Uganda. The two parties are working out the detailed modalities on how the agreement shall be implemented,” Bagiire Vincent Waiswa said.

The government of the east African country is the latest to strike a deal with the US, which is seeking to expel millions of undocumented migrants, asylum seekers and foreigners with criminal convictions or more minor legal infractions on their record.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/21/uganda-reaches-agreement-with-us-to-take-in-some-of-its-failed-asylum-seekers