Eight people "of African origin" are sent to Uganda by the US.

 

US President Donald Trump's administration has been cracking down on migration (Image: Shutterstock)

The first such transfer under a migration deal that was signed last year has resulted in the deportation of eight African nationals to Uganda. The group arrived on Wednesday after a US judge approved their cases, Uganda's foreign ministry said.

 In a statement, the ministry stated that Uganda was designated as a safe third country as part of its agreement with the United States for migrants who are unable to return to their countries due to factors such as persecution. The Uganda Law Society has condemned the deportations, saying the individuals had effectively been dumped in the country "through an undignified, harrowing and dehumanising process".

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 The organization said it would challenge the procedure in court and called it illegal. The BBC has sought comment from the US Department of Homeland Security. US President Donald Trump's administration has deported dozens of people to third countries since coming into power last January - part of its hard-line approach towards immigration.

 Human rights activists have criticized the policy, and some have questioned whether it is legal.

Uganda's foreign ministry said it could not give many details about the deportees for privacy reasons, but said: "Uganda continues to uphold its longstanding commitment to providing sanctuary to persons in need and assuring they are treated with dignity."

 They were described as "of African origin who may not be granted asylum in the USA and are reluctant to or may have concerns about returning to their country of origin," despite the fact that they were neither citizens of Uganda nor of the United States. According to CBS News, a US partner of the BBC, Uganda agreed to accept deported migrants without a criminal record. The United States claims that many of those transferred to other third countries have been found guilty of crimes. Trump has begun extensive efforts to expel undocumented immigrants since the beginning of his second term. This was a key campaign promise that received widespread support. Uganda is among several African countries which, as a third country, have accepted deportees from the US.  These include Eswatini, Ghana and South Sudan.

Source: BBC