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Netherlands to deport migrants to Uganda

Oct 21, 2025, 6:58am EDT
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US President Donald Trump and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
Suzanne Plunkett/Pool/Reuters

The Netherlands will deport dozens of so-called third-country migrants to Uganda from next year.

Several other countries have already attempted similar moves: The US sent 13 foreign criminals to Eswatini and South Sudan in July, and Italy last year sent asylum seekers to Albania. Both Denmark and the UK agreed in 2022 to send migrants to Rwanda, although neither program went ahead.

Rich countries’ migration dilemma is illustrated by a row in Germany: The central bank president argued that immigration helped maintain economic momentum, but large-scale migration is unpopular, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, under pressure from the hard right, said the country has too many newcomers and that they were making women unsafe. “Just ask your daughters,” he said.

A chart showing irregular migration to the EU by year.
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