In Uganda, Legal Groups Condemn Arrival of U.S. Deportees

Author: Vera Rousseff

April 8, 2026

HRRC condemns the U.S. government’s practice of deporting migrants to countries that are not their countries of origin, also known as third-country deportation. Third-country deportation agreements, such as the one signed with Uganda, put the safety of migrants at risk and shift U.S. immigration challenges onto other countries in exchange for payment. We call on the Trump administration to stop signing third-country deportation agreements.

Drivers on the streets of Kampala, Uganda. [Image credit: Hajarah Nalwadda/AP]

On Thursday, April 2, the Uganda Law Society and East Africa Law Society released a joint statement condemning the transfer of approximately a dozen deportees from the United States to Uganda. The two legal groups referred to the deportation as an “undignified, harrowing and dehumanising process” carried out “for the benefit of unnamed, private interests on either side of the Atlantic.” At least eight deportees arrived in the country on Wednesday, April 1, though the Ugandan government did not officially announce their arrival until the following Friday.

The deportation was carried out under the Agreement for Cooperation in the Examination of Protection Requests, which was signed by the governments of Uganda and the U.S. in July 2025. The agreement allows the U.S. to deport individuals who are of African origin, but who are not Ugandan citizens, to Uganda under what is known as a “Safe Third Country Agreement”. The individuals in question are typically deportees who have been refused asylum in the U.S. but do not wish to return to their country of origin. The U.S. government has signed similar third-country agreements with other African countries, including Ghana, Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, and Rwanda, many of which have received millions of dollars in exchange for their participation in these agreements. Equatorial Guinea, for example, received 7.5 million USD, while Eswatini received 5.1 million USD. It is unclear whether Uganda also received payment as part of its agreement. 

Third-country deportation agreements have received criticism from human rights advocates, who argue that they violate the rights of migrants. UN experts have warned that such deportations could leave migrants stranded in unfamiliar countries where their safety cannot be guaranteed, putting them at risk of arbitrary detention, human trafficking, or enforced disappearance. Earlier this year, three men deported from the U.S. to Eswatini filed a case against Eswatini’s government after having been detained in the country for months, despite having already served criminal sentences in the U.S.. The three men are part of a larger group of fifteen deportees sent to Eswatini last year. As of March, all but one remain in prison.

Third-country deportations are also criticized by advocacy groups in recipient countries. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights stated in a press release that these agreements represent an “externalization” of the U.S.’s migration responsibilities, suggesting that the U.S. is effectively paying African countries to take care of its immigration problems. Many of these countries are already struggling to host refugees from surrounding countries, with Uganda hosting approximately 1.8 million refugees and asylum-seekers at the end of 2024. In addition, there are concerns that the payments made to the governments of participating countries may support authoritarian regimes with histories of human rights violations.

In their joint statement, the Uganda Law Society and East Africa Law Society announced their intention to challenge the deportation in court. “Our perspective of the matter is broader than a single act of deportation,” the statement reads. “We view it as but one gust from the ill winds of transnational repression that are blowing across our world.”

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Glossary

• Advocacy groups: organizations that support a cause or try to influence public policy.

• African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights: a group created by the African Union that works to protect and promote human rights across African countries, including monitoring abuses and making recommendations to governments.

• Arbitrary detention: when someone is held in custody without a fair or legal reason.

• Asylum: protection given by a country to someone who has fled danger or persecution in their home country.

• Authoritarian regime: a government where power is held by one leader or a small group, with limited freedoms for citizens.

• Dehumanizing: treating someone as if they are not human or not worthy of respect and dignity.

• Deportation: the act of sending someone out of a country, usually because they are not legally allowed to stay.

• Enforced disappearance: when a person is secretly taken or detained by authorities (or groups acting with their support), and their fate or location is hidden from others.

• Externalization: a policy where a country shifts its responsibilities (like immigration control) to other countries.

• Harrowing: extremely distressing or upsetting; something that causes strong feelings of fear, shock, or sadness.

• Human trafficking: the illegal trade of people for forced labor, exploitation, or other abuses.

• Migrant: a person who moves from one place to another, often to find work or better living conditions.

• Recipient: a person, group, or country that receives something, such as money, aid, or people.

• Refugees: people who are forced to leave their home country because of war, violence, or persecution, and who seek safety in another country.

• Third-country deportation: when a person is deported to a country that is not their country of origin.

• Transnational repression: when a government tries to control or harm its citizens even when they are living abroad.