The Government of Uganda has formally announced the conclusion of a significant Agreement on migration cooperation with the United States. This bilateral agreement primarily focuses on the management of protection requests for third-country nationals, providing a structured framework under which Uganda will temporarily host certain individuals. These individuals are those who may not be granted asylum in the United States but are unwilling or unable to return to their countries of origin.

According to Bagiire Vincent Waiswa, Permanent Secretary of the Ugandan foreign affairs ministry, the arrangement is guided by specific and stringent conditions. Crucially, individuals with criminal records and unaccompanied minors will not be accepted under this program. Furthermore, Uganda has expressed a clear preference for persons originating from African countries to be the ones transferred under the agreement. As stated by Bagiire, “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.”

The Ugandan government has underscored that this is not an open-ended policy but rather a carefully negotiated cooperation framework. Its aim is to strengthen international collaboration on complex migration issues while simultaneously safeguarding Uganda’s national interests and security. This agreement aligns with Uganda's long-standing international reputation as a leading host nation for refugees, currently sheltering over 1.6 million displaced persons, predominantly from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Somalia. The government maintains that this new arrangement with the U.S. will not compromise its existing humanitarian commitments but will instead reinforce global responsibility-sharing in addressing migration challenges.

Officials from both Uganda and the United States are actively engaged in working out the detailed modalities for the smooth implementation of the agreement. These include critical aspects such as vetting mechanisms, hosting arrangements, and definitive timelines for processing the transferred individuals. Further updates on the operational framework are anticipated once the technical teams from both governments finalize the implementation guidelines.

This initiative by the United States is part of a broader strategy to manage migration and speed up deportations. The Trump administration previously negotiated similar arrangements to send people to third countries, including El Salvador and Eswatini, deals that faced significant criticism from human rights groups. In this context, Uganda joins other East African nations like Rwanda and South Sudan in signaling such cooperation with Washington. The agreement comes amidst ongoing global migration pressures, exemplified by events such as the caravan of around 300 migrants of various nationalities that set out from Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, in August 2025, heading towards the US border seeking legal residency.