Sierra Leone Receives Migrants Deported From the US Amid Trump Immigration Crackdown

Sierra Leone has become the latest African nation to receive migrants deported from the United States as President Donald Trump continues his crackdown on illegal immigration.

A plane carrying nine West African migrants landed at the country’s international airport near the capital, Freetown, on Wednesday morning, May 20, 2026.

Last week, Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Timothy Musa Kabba told Reuters that the country had agreed to accept up to 300 migrants deported from the United States every year.

However, he explained that the deportees must come from member states of the Economic Community of West African States, commonly known as ECOWAS.

“The new arrivals must originally come from Ecowas member states,” Kabba said.

The United States has already deported migrants to several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, and South Sudan.

Nine Migrants Arrive in Sierra Leone

The BBC reported that the group arrived aboard a Boeing charter flight on Wednesday, May 20.

The deportees included seven men and two women. Witnesses said the group appeared distressed, and one migrant reportedly resisted leaving the plane before being physically removed.

Officials said five of the migrants were from Ghana, two from Guinea, one from Nigeria, and one from Senegal.

Under Ecowas agreements, citizens from member countries can stay in another Ecowas country for up to 90 days without a visa.

Also Read: Kenyan Court Orders Deportation of Congolese Teacher

Migrants to Be Returned Home After Two Weeks

A private company called Kenvah Solutions, which is housing the migrants, told the BBC that the deportees would only stay at its facilities for two weeks before being sent back to their home countries.

The Sierra Leone government has not revealed what it will receive in exchange for accepting the deportees.

Trump’s Deportation Policy Expands

Since returning to power in January 2025, Trump’s administration has expanded deportations to so-called “third countries”-nations where migrants did not live before entering the United States.

Mass deportation was one of Trump’s key campaign promises during his re-election bid.

According to a minority report from the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the Trump administration has likely spent more than $40 million on third-country deportations up to January 2026, although the exact amount remains unknown.

Also Read: DRC Joins Uganda in Hosting US-Deported Third-Country Migrants

Human Rights Concerns Raised

Human rights groups have criticized the deportation agreements, warning that they may violate international standards and put migrants at risk.

Last September 2025, Human Rights Watch urged African countries to reject what it described as “opaque deals.”

The group argued that the agreements were “designed to instrumentalise human suffering.”

Like Sierra Leone, Ghana has also said it would only accept deportees from Ecowas member states.

“We agreed with the US that West African nationals were acceptable,” said Ghanaian President John Mahama.

“All our fellow West African nationals don’t need visas to come to our country,” he added.

Meanwhile, migrants deported to countries such as DR Congo, South Sudan, and Eswatini have included people from countries outside Africa, including Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and Vietnam.

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President Donald Trump speaking about Sierra Leone from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 in Washington
PHOTO/White House Gallery