Freetown, Sierra Leone — Nine immigrants deported from the United States arrived Sierra Leone The West African country said Wednesday, in the latest example of the Trump administration’s widely criticized deals with African and Latin American countries to receive third-country deportees.
The Ministry of Information said that five immigrants were from Ghana, two from Guinea, one from Senegal, and one from Nigeria. The deals have It raised questions about respect for migrants’ rights.
The ministry’s statement said that the new arrivals “were examined at their hosting facilities and are comfortable and receiving the necessary support.” She added that 24 people were initially expected to be deported, but did not provide details.
The low number can be explained by the fact that many deportations stopped shortly before the flight left the United States, said Alma David, an immigration lawyer with the US-based Novo Law Group who helped the deportees.
According to court documents seen by The Associated Press, a US federal judge halted the deportation of a woman to Sierra Leone after the government failed to allow her to seek protection under the Convention against Torture, as required by law.
Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister, Timothy Kaba, told local media on Wednesday that the government had agreed to temporarily take in migrants deported by the Trump administration, saying it was only accepting West African citizens and that the agreement was backed by a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. government.
The Ministry of Information said in a Facebook post on Monday that Kenvah Solutions, a private contracting company, has been contracted to handle housing, food and health care services for deportees.
She said deportees are expected to be repatriated or transferred within 14 days, or up to 30 days in exceptional cases.
The program sets a cap on the number of 25 deportees per month and 300 per year, according to the ministry. The duration of the arrangement was not specified.
The United States has entered into third-country removal agreements with at least eight other African countries, many of which are among the countries hardest hit by Trump administration policies restricting trade, aid and immigration. the Other African countries It is known that the signing of the deals is Congo, Equatorial Guinea, South SudanRwanda, Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana and Cameroon.
Many have notoriously repressive governments and poor human rights records, including Eswatini, South Sudan and Equatorial Guinea.
Some countries have And she got millions of dollars in returnAccording to documents published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The details of most of the agreements have not been announced.
Lawyers and activists have raised questions about the nature of the deals with countries in Africa and elsewhere. Some countries in Latin America, incl costa rica,dominican republic and Honduras, Similar agreements have been signed to accept deportees from third countries.
Last week, a federal judge The Trump administration has ordered the return of a Colombian woman to the United States. From the Congo after being deported there, although she was refused admission due to her inability to meet her medical needs.
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Banchero reported from Dakar, Senegal.