Sierra Leone Agrees to Take 300 US-Deported West Africans a Year, With First 25 Due May 20
Updated
Updated · Reuters · May 16
Sierra Leone Agrees to Take 300 US-Deported West Africans a Year, With First 25 Due May 20
9 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 16
Sierra Leone said it will accept 300 ECOWAS citizens deported by the United States each year, with the first flight carrying 25 people from Senegal, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria due on May 20.
Foreign Minister Timothy Kabba said the deal caps arrivals at 25 a month and is part of Sierra Leone's bilateral relationship with Washington as the Trump administration pushes to speed up removals.
It remains unclear whether deportees sent to Sierra Leone will be allowed to stay there, a key question because Reuters previously reported some third-country deportees sent elsewhere in Africa were later forced back to their home countries.
The agreement extends a broader U.S. practice of sending deportees to non-home countries in Africa and beyond, a policy criticized by legal experts and rights groups and linked by Senate Democrats to at least $32 million sent to five countries.
How will accepting 300 deportees annually impact Sierra Leone's economy and social fabric?
Deported from the U.S. but not sent home: what fate awaits migrants in Sierra Leone?
What is the real price for Sierra Leone accepting deportees who are not its citizens?