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Nine West African migrants deported to Sierra Leone amid Trump crackdown

May 17, 2026 · Freetown, SL

Nine West African migrants deported to Sierra Leone amid Trump crackdown

Nine West African migrants were deported from the United States and arrived at Sierra Leone's international airport on Wednesday as part of the Trump administration's expanded deportation program. The group of seven men and two women—five from Ghana, two from Guinea, and one each from Nigeria and Senegal—were flown to Sierra Leone under a new agreement allowing the country to receive up to 300 deportees annually. Sierra Leone is the latest African nation receiving U.S. deportees sent to third countries where they did not previously reside; the administration has spent over $40 million on such third-country deportations since January 2025, raising concerns from human rights advocates about violations of international standards.

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