Sierra Leone has agreed to take in hundreds of West African migrants who are being deported by the United States, its foreign minister told Reuters.
The first flight will arrive in Sierra Leone on May 20, Timothy Kabba said, transporting nationals from Senegal, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria. He did not say how many deportees would be on the flight.
“Sierra Leone signed a Third Country National Agreement with the US to accept 300 ECOWAS citizens from the US per year with a maximum of 25 a month,” Kabba said, referring to the West African regional bloc.
The US has previously sent deportees to African states including Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, and Eswatini.
Sierra Leone’s arrangement to accept only deportees from ECOWAS countries is similar to Ghana’s.
It is unclear whether the deportees sent to Sierra Leone will be allowed to stay there. Kabba did not say what Sierra Leone would get in return for taking in the deportees.
“It’s part of our bilateral relationship with the US to assist with its immigration policy,” he said.
In a report published in February, Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the total cost of third-country removals was unknown, but that more than $32 million had been sent directly to five countries – Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini and Palau.
SOURCE: Reuters