Sierra Leone receives first US deportation flight under Trump immigration crackdown
Sierra Leone has received its first deportation flight from the United States under President Donald Trump’s expanded immigration enforcement campaign, with nine migrants arriving in Freetown on Wednesday.
The deportees landed at Freetown International Airport aboard a US flight witnessed by journalists, marking Sierra Leone’s entry into a growing network of African countries cooperating with Washington on deportation arrangements.
Initially, Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Timothy Musa Kabba said 25 migrants were expected to arrive. However, he later confirmed that only nine deportees were on the flight.
Authorities said the group consisted of seven men and two women from Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, and Senegal.
Witnesses at the airport described the deportees stepping off the aircraft with their heads lowered before boarding a police-escorted minibus.
According to health ministry official Doris Bah, many of the migrants appeared emotionally distressed after spending months in detention facilities in the United States.
“All were traumatised due to the months in chains during detention in the US,” Bah said.
She added that several deportees claimed they were arrested unexpectedly while going about daily activities in America.
“Some of the deportees were arrested on the streets and their place of work, while another was arrested while playing football in the US,” she explained.
Officials said the migrants would temporarily stay in a hotel before being returned to their countries of origin within two weeks.
Under the agreement with Washington, Sierra Leone has agreed to accept up to 300 deportees annually, although the arrangement only applies to nationals from ECOWAS member states.
Authorities also noted that some deportees possess Sierra Leonean residence permits obtained years ago, allowing them to remain in the country for up to 90 days before returning home.
Documents seen by AFP reportedly show that the United States is providing approximately $1.5 million in support for the programme.
The funding is intended to cover humanitarian and operational costs linked to the deportation arrangement, though Sierra Leonean officials have not disclosed whether any additional agreements or concessions were made.
A spokesperson for the US State Department described migrant removals as a “top priority” for Washington but did not explain why Sierra Leone was selected as a partner country.
Sierra Leone joins several other African nations that have agreed to receive deportees from the United States, including Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
In some cases, countries have reportedly accepted migrants who are not their own citizens as part of broader cooperation agreements with Washington.
Human rights organizations have criticized the policy, raising concerns about transparency and international law.
Human Rights Watch previously urged African governments to reject such arrangements, describing them as “opaque deals” that could violate international human rights protections.
Critics argue that deported migrants often face uncertainty, trauma, and limited legal protections after being transferred to countries where they may have little connection or support.
The deportation programme reflects the continued expansion of Trump’s hardline immigration agenda as US authorities intensify efforts to remove undocumented migrants and reduce illegal immigration.
The latest agreement is also likely to spark debate within West Africa over regional migration policies, sovereignty, and the humanitarian implications of accepting deportees from outside the continent.
As the programme expands, rights groups and immigration advocates are expected to continue scrutinizing the deals between African governments and Washington.
