Freetown, Sierra Leone – Sierra Leone has signed a Third Country National Agreement with the United States to accept hundreds of West African migrants deported from the U.S., Foreign Minister Timothy Musa Kabba announced.
The agreement allows Sierra Leone to receive up to 300 deportees per year, with a monthly cap of 25 individuals. The first flight carrying 25 nationals from Senegal, Ghana, Guinea, and Nigeria is scheduled to arrive in Freetown on May 20.
Context and U.S. Support
This arrangement forms part of the current U.S. administration’s strategy to accelerate deportations by partnering with third countries when direct repatriation to countries of origin is difficult.
The deal follows U.S. visa restrictions imposed on Sierra Leone earlier this year. In January 2026, the United States implemented a full visa ban on Sierra Leonean nationals, citing insufficient cooperation on information sharing and deportations. At the time, around 52 Sierra Leoneans were reported to be in U.S. immigration custody awaiting removal.
Sierra Leone’s Cabinet approved the agreement in March 2026, supported by a $1.5 million U.S. grant to cover reception, temporary accommodation, humanitarian assistance, and logistics for the arriving migrants. Officials describe the program as a temporary, time-bound humanitarian initiative focused on ECOWAS citizens and compliant with international standards.
Regional Implications
The move aligns with similar third-country deportation pacts the U.S. has pursued in West Africa, including with Ghana, which has already begun receiving small groups of deportees under comparable arrangements.
Minister Kabba has stressed that Sierra Leone will only accept West African nationals and will serve as a temporary host rather than a permanent resettlement destination. Coordination for the reception will involve multiple government ministries to ensure the process is conducted with dignity and safety.
Further details on the processing, support services, and eventual onward movement of the deportees are expected to be released in the coming days.
