KAMPALA (Reuters) – A high-ranking official in Uganda’s foreign affairs ministry revealed on Wednesday that the country has not finalized any agreement with the United States regarding the acceptance of illegal immigrants. The official emphasized this is due to a lack of the necessary infrastructure.
“As far as I know, we aren’t in any agreement on this matter. We simply don’t have the facilities to accommodate illegal immigrants here in Uganda. Thus, we cannot accept them,” stated Okello Oryem, the state minister for foreign affairs, in a message to Reuters.
This statement comes on the heels of a report from CBS News, which referenced internal documents indicating that the US has been striking deportation agreements with countries like Honduras and Uganda, aiming to find nations willing to accept migrants deported from the United States, even if they are not nationals of those countries.
Former President Donald Trump made it clear that his administration’s plan included deporting millions of undocumented immigrants and that efforts were underway to facilitate removals to third-party nations. These efforts have proposed sending deportees, including convicted felons, to countries like South Sudan and Eswatini, which was formerly known as Swaziland.
