Sierra Leone

On May 20, Sierra Leone received 9 deportees from the United States under a third-country agreement. Of the migrants, five were from Ghana, two were from Guinea, and one was from Senegal. Authorities claimed 24 people were expected, but did not provide details on why all of the people did not arrive. The arrivals landed at the airport near Freetown. Doris Bah, a health ministry official, stated those who arrived were “traumatized due to the months in chains during detention in the US”. Bah also said that the returnees will be housed in a hotel, and will return to their home countries within two weeks. 

Diplomatic notes, made available in June 2026 on the State Department website, show that Sierra Leone will  consider accepting a maximum of 300 citizens of the Economic Community of West African States present in the United States (annually).  Local media outlets reported that the Sierra Leone government approved a contract with Kenvah Solutions (SL) to provide services to third country nationals who arrive through the agreement, including reception and temporary accommodations, funded by 1.5 million USD from the U.S. government. 

Following the controversial 2023 elections in Sierra Leone, the Biden administration announced visa restrictions for those responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Sierra Leone, including electoral manipulation or rigging, intimidation of voters, observers, or civil society through threats or violence, or related human rights abuses. Human rights violations in Sierra Leone include arbitrary or unlawful killings, harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, and arbitrary arrest or detention. In late 2025, the Trump administration pledged $129 million dollars in funding to Sierra Leone’s public health system, which may have influenced negotiations over the third country national deportation agreement.

As of January 21, 2026, Trump administration paused all visa insurances to nationals from Sierra Leone. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Trump administration formally requested Sierra Leone accept third country nationals as a condition for lifting the visa ban, which it has yet to do. 

Sierra Leone’s asylum system is limited in scale and capacity. The country hosts a small number of refugees and asylum seekers, primarily from neighboring West African states. Refugees and asylum seekers face uncertainty in Sierra Leone regarding legal status and access to employment, increasing their vulnerability to exploitation.