Deportees from US arrive in Sierra Leone under third-country agreement
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- Nine migrants deported from the U.S. arrived in Sierra Leone, including individuals from Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, and Nigeria, as part of the Trump administration's controversial third-country deportation deals.
- Sierra Leone agreed to temporarily receive West African deportees under a U.S.-funded program capped at 25 deportees per month and supported by a $1.5 million grant, with housing and care managed by a private contractor.
- The number of deportees was lower than expected due to some deportations being halted by U.S. courts, including a case where a judge stopped a deportation to Sierra Leone over failure to provide protection under the Convention Against Torture.
- The U.S. has similar third-country deportation agreements with at least eight other African nations, some with poor human rights records, raising concerns among lawyers and activists about migrants' rights and the nature of these deals.
- Recent legal challenges have forced the U.S. government to reverse some deportations, highlighting ongoing controversies over the treatment and care of deportees sent to third countries.