A group of 12 people deported from the United States arrived at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda on Thursday, according to the Uganda Law Society. This marked the first transfer of deportees under a bilateral agreement that designates the East African nation as a destination for migrants whom the US cannot return to their countries of origin.
The deportation highlights the expansion of President Donald Trump’s third-country deportation policy, which has faced legal and human rights criticisms over concerns that it sends individuals to unfamiliar nations with no personal ties.
Yasmeen Hibrawi, public affairs counsellor at the Embassy of the United States in Kampala, stated that all transfers under a Safe Third Country deal, inked by both countries, “are in full cooperation with the Government of Uganda.”
“We do not, however, discuss the details of our private diplomatic communications, and for privacy reasons, we cannot discuss the particulars of their cases,” Hibrawi said.
A senior Ugandan government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the arrivals and said the deportees would remain in Uganda as part of “a transition phase for potential onward transmission to other countries.”
It was not clear what nationalities the deportees were.
The arrivals make Uganda the latest African nation to accept non-national deportees from the US, joining Cameroon, Ghana, Eswatini, and South Sudan.
The law society said the deportees, who arrived at Entebbe International Airport early on Thursday, had been subjected to what it described as an “undignified, harrowing, and dehumanising process.”
The society said that it plans to proceed to court to challenge the legality of the deportation.
In August 2025, Kampala announced its deal with Washington, stipulating that Uganda would take in individuals denied asylum in the US who were unwilling to return to their home countries.
Ugandan officials said they favour individuals of African descent and that they would not accept deportees with criminal records or unaccompanied minors.
The East African nation is currently facing a strenuous burden of hosting more than 2 million refugees, mainly from conflict-hit South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Twelve deportees from the US arrive in Uganda, Law Society says
