Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement clarifying the country’s position on reports of a migration deal with the United States, confirming the existence of a temporary cooperation framework but under specific conditions.
Permanent Secretary Bagiire Vincent Waiswa said that, as part of bilateral cooperation between Kampala and Washington, “an Agreement for cooperation in the examination of protection requests was concluded.”
The arrangement applies to third-country nationals who are denied asylum in the United States but are unwilling or unable to return to their countries of origin. According to the ministry, the agreement is not open-ended and comes with clear restrictions.
“This is a temporary arrangement with conditions including that individuals with criminal records and unaccompanied minors will not be accepted. Uganda also prefers that individuals from African countries shall be the ones transferred to Uganda,” Waiswa noted.
The ministry added that both governments are still working out detailed modalities for how the agreement will be implemented.
The statement comes after earlier denials by State Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Oryem Okello, who told Reuters that Uganda lacked the facilities and infrastructure to take in migrants deported from the US.
Reports first surfaced through CBS News, which cited internal US government documents indicating that Uganda had agreed to accept certain deportees as part of President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown.
The revelation sparked confusion and criticism from human rights groups, who argue that third-country deportations expose vulnerable migrants to heightened risks.
Uganda, already one of the world’s largest refugee-hosting countries, currently shelters nearly two million people fleeing conflicts in neighbouring states such as South Sudan, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
