Nine migrants deported from the United States have arrived in Sierra Leone under a controversial third-country agreement, the West African nation confirmed on Wednesday. The deportation is the latest example of the Trump administration's deals with African nations to accept non-citizens removed from the US.
Details of the Arrivals
According to Sierra Leone's ministry of information, the nine deportees include five individuals from Ghana, two from Guinea, one from Senegal, and one from Nigeria. The statement noted that the arrivals "have been checked into their hosting facilities, are comfortable and receiving the necessary support." Initially, 24 deportees were expected, but the lower number was not explained.
Alma David, an immigration lawyer with Novo Legal Group in the US, suggested that several deportations were halted shortly before the flight departed. Court documents seen by the Associated Press reveal that a US federal judge stopped the deportation of a woman to Sierra Leone after the government failed to allow her to seek protection under the Convention Against Torture.
Financial and Legal Aspects
Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister Timothy Kabba stated that the government agreed to temporarily receive West African nationals deported by the US, supported by a $1.5 million grant from Washington. The US has signed similar third-country deportation deals with at least eight other African nations, including Congo, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and Cameroon. Many of these countries have repressive governments and poor human rights records.
Lawyers and activists have criticized the lack of transparency and potential human rights violations. Last week, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to return a Colombian woman to the US after she was deported to Congo, which had refused to accept her due to her medical needs.
