Eight individuals of African origin were deported to Uganda from the United States in a move that marked the first transfer under a migration deal inked last year. The group, originating from various African countries, arrived in Uganda on Wednesday following the approval of their cases by a US judge. According to Uganda’s foreign ministry, the agreement between the two nations designates Uganda as a safe third country for migrants who are unable to return to their home countries due to reasons such as persecution.
The Uganda Law Society has expressed strong disapproval of the deportations, characterizing the process as undignified, harrowing, and dehumanizing. The organization has labeled the process as illegal and announced its intention to challenge it in court. The BBC has reached out to the US Department of Homeland Security for comment on the matter.
Since President Donald Trump’s administration came into power, it has been known for its hard-line approach towards immigration, having deported dozens of people to third countries, including Uganda. Human rights campaigners have decried the policy, with some raising concerns about its legality. The Uganda foreign ministry, while acknowledging the privacy concerns, stated that the individuals were neither Ugandan nor US citizens and were of African origin. They may not be granted asylum in the USA and might have reservations about returning to their country of origin.
CBS News, a partner of the BBC, reported that Uganda agreed to accept deported migrants on the condition that they did not have criminal histories. The US has claimed that many of those transferred to third countries, including Uganda, have been convicted criminals. Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, there have been sweeping efforts to remove undocumented migrants, a key promise during his election campaign.
Uganda, along with other African countries such as Eswatini, Ghana, and South Sudan, has accepted deportees from the US as a third country. For more news from the African continent, visit BBCAfrica. Com.
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Source: BBC Africa
