Sierra Leone has agreed to receive deported migrants from the United States as the administration of President Donald Trump steps up efforts against undocumented immigration.
The country’s foreign affairs minister, Timothy Kabba, confirmed that Sierra Leone will take in hundreds of migrants from West Africa under a new deal with the U.S.
The first group is expected to arrive on May 20. It will include 25 people from Senegal, Ghana, Guinea, and Nigeria
“Sierra Leone signed a Third Country National Agreement with the U.S. to accept 300 ECOWAS citizens from the U.S. per year with a maximum of 25 a month,” Reuters quoted Kabba as saying.
Kabba did not disclose what Sierra Leone stands to gain from the arrangement, and it remains unclear whether those deported will be allowed to settle in the country or eventually moved elsewhere.
The U.S. had previously reached a similar deal with Ghana, but that arrangement faced backlash after some deportees complained of illegal detention and poor treatment.
In the past, the U.S. has also sent deportees to countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Eswatini.
These moves have drawn criticism from legal experts and human rights groups, who question both the legality of such transfers and the conditions faced by migrants sent to countries that are not their own.
Nigeria was also approached to join such an agreement, but former foreign affairs minister Yusuf Tuggar declined, citing concerns about security and the country’s economic situation.
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