As part of its aggressive immigration policy, the US has secured deportation agreements with Honduras and Uganda to expedite migrant returns. Critics highlight the dangers these agreements pose to deported individuals, emphasizing the ongoing human rights violations in host countries.
US Expands Deportation Agreements Amid Human Rights Concerns
US Expands Deportation Agreements Amid Human Rights Concerns
The US has formalized new deportation deals with Honduras and Uganda, igniting significant controversy as human rights advocates raise alarm over potential risks to migrants.
The United States has intensified its immigration enforcement by establishing bilateral deportation agreements with Honduras and Uganda, aiming to manage the growing number of migrants at the US-Mexico border. According to documents obtained from the US partner CBS, these deals entail Honduras accepting hundreds of deported individuals from Spanish-speaking countries, while Uganda will take in unspecified numbers of African and Asian migrants.
This initiative is part of the broader agenda of Donald Trump's administration, which seeks the cooperation of various countries to accept deportees that do not belong to them. However, this approach has faced significant backlash from human rights organizations, who warn that returning migrants to these nations exposes them to further risks and potential harm.
Under the terms of the Ugandan agreement, the country will only accept migrants with clean criminal records, but it remains unclear how many individuals will be accommodated. Meanwhile, Honduras pledges to accept deportees over the next two years, including families traveling with children, with the potential for more to be included based on future agreements.
This decision follows a series of similar arrangements targeting countries around the world, including a recent “safe third country” agreement with Paraguay. The Trump administration's courting of African nations continues, as Rwanda has signed on to take up to 250 deported individuals from the US, granting them the authority to approve each case for resettlement. This has drawn scrutiny due to Rwanda's questionable human rights record.
Earlier this year, both Panama and Costa Rica also agreed to host hundreds of African and Asian migrants from the US, while reports suggest outreach efforts to other nations including Ecuador and Spain are ongoing. Since the start of his second term, Trump has been pursuing aggressive measures to eliminate undocumented immigration, which was a central theme of his campaign and garnered substantial public support.
In June, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of resuming deportations to countries other than migrants’ own, allowing the administration to bypass protocols that would typically grant them a chance to contest their removal based on potential safety concerns. Dissenting justices highlighted this as a serious concern, describing it as a "gross abuse."
International rights experts and advocacy groups have voiced that such deportations to nations that are not the migrants' origin could violate international law, further complicating the ethical landscape surrounding US immigration policy amidst ongoing global humanitarian crises.
