Sierra Leone Receives 9 US-Deported West Africans as Trump Expands Third-Country Removals
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 20
Sierra Leone Receives 9 US-Deported West Africans as Trump Expands Third-Country Removals
13 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 20
Nine West African migrants deported from the United States landed near Freetown on Wednesday aboard a Boeing charter flight, making Sierra Leone the latest African country to take US deportees.
Sierra Leone agreed last week to accept up to 300 people a year, but only if they are citizens of Ecowas member states; the new group included five Ghanaians, two Guineans, one Nigerian and one Senegalese.
Kenvah Solutions, the private company housing them, said the migrants can stay at its facilities for two weeks before being sent to their home countries; one deportee resisted leaving the plane and was physically removed.
The arrivals fit a broader US policy of sending migrants to third countries under Donald Trump, with deportees already sent to DR Congo, Ghana and South Sudan and Senate Democrats estimating the program likely cost more than $40 million by January 2026.
Critics including Human Rights Watch say the opaque deals may breach international human rights standards, while Sierra Leone has not disclosed what it receives in return for accepting deportees.
When the US pays millions for deportations, what happens to the people sent to unfamiliar nations?
What hidden diplomatic pressures are behind the deals to deport migrants to Africa?
Why do deportation flights continue even after US courts have ruled the practice illegal?