Nine migrants deported from the United States arrived in Sierra Leone early on Wednesday, May 20, under a temporary migration arrangement with Washington, authorities said.
According to Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Information, the group landed at the country’s International Airport near Freetown. The deportees include five nationals from Ghana, two from Guinea, one from Senegal and one from Nigeria. The ministry said all nine migrants had been transferred to accommodation facilities and were receiving the necessary support.
Authorities disclosed that 24 deportees had initially been expected, although no explanation was provided as to why only nine arrived.
Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister, Timothy Kabba, told local media that the government had agreed to temporarily receive migrants deported under policies introduced by the administration of former US President Donald Trump.
Kabba said Sierra Leone would only accept West African nationals under the arrangement, which is reportedly backed by a 1.5 million dollar grant from the US government.
The United States has signed similar third-country deportation agreements with several African countries, including DRC, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Eswatini, Cameroon and Ghana.
A February 2026 report by Democratic staff of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee estimated that the Trump Administration spent at least 40 million dollars to deport more than 300 migrants to countries other than their own.