


Uganda announced on Thursday that it would accept deported U.S. immigrants who weren’t from the country, setting itself up as a safe third country for deportees fearing persecution if returning home.
The deal stipulated that migrants sent to Uganda as part of the deal won’t be unaccompanied minors or have a criminal record, according to Ugandan Foreign Affairs Secretary Bagiire Vincent Waiswa. He also stressed that the agreement was temporary and that Kampala and Washington were still working out some specifics.
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“The Agreement is in respect of Third Country Nationals who may not be granted asylum in the United States but are reluctant to or may have concerns about returning to their countries of origin,” he said.
“Uganda also prefers that individuals from African countries shall be the ones transferred to Uganda,” Waiswa added.
The announcement came as a surprise, as just a day previously State Minister for Foreign Affairs Okello Oryem told Reuters that such a deal wouldn’t take place, after a CBS News report citing internal U.S. government documents said deals had been worked out with Uganda and Honduras.
“To the best of my knowledge we have not reached such an agreement,” he said. “We do not have the facilities and infrastructure to accommodate such illegal immigrants in Uganda.”
Uganda is the latest of several countries, mostly in Africa, which have struck deals with the Trump administration to accept deported immigrants from unrelated countries. The Trump administration hopes to use the tactic to lighten the load on its strained immigration system, as President Donald Trump attempts to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
The tactic famously began with El Salvador, soon expanding to Costa Rica, Panama, Eswatini, and South Sudan. Rwanda announced earlier this month that it struck its own deal to accept U.S. deportees.
The deal reached by Rwanda also had stipulations on what immigrants they would accept, restricting it only to those who had completed their prison terms and weren’t child sex offenders. Kigali also capped the number of deportees accepted at 250, all of which would have to be approved on a case-by-case basis.
“Rwanda has agreed with the United States to accept up to 250 migrants, in part because nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement and our societal values are founded on reintegration and rehabilitation,” Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said.
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The Supreme Court cleared the Trump administration to send illegal immigrants to third countries temporarily on June 23.
Though only a relatively small number of illegal immigrants have been sent to third countries, too few to make a serious, tangible impact, the threat of deportation to an unfamiliar country is part of the Trump administration’s wider strategy of deterrence. The hope is that the prospect will prompt illegal immigrants to either self-deport or not come to the U.S. in the first place.