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Deportees on Africa flight describe straitjackets, abuse, and denial of bathroom access

Aug 9, 2026

Country of origin: Nigeria

Deportees on Africa flight describe straitjackets, abuse, and denial of bathroom access
Photo via parrotnigeria.com

An estimated 71 Nigerian, African, and other foreign nationals were expelled from the United States on a 26-hour ICE deportation flight on July 31, routing through Sierra Leone, the Central African Republic, and Ghana. Passengers, including Mohamed Barry, said GEO Group-contracted guards subjected them to verbal and physical abuse, bound at least two detainees in full-body straitjackets, and refused to let them use the lavatory. Barry said he witnessed an ICE agent instruct a foreign official to return detainees to their home countries despite protection orders barring such removal, a practice known as chain refoulement that violates U.S. and international law.

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