Sierra Leonean nurse case anchors Guardian deportation reporting
A Sierra Leonean nurse was detained, handcuffed and flown to Ghana as part of US third-country deportation agreements, according to a Guardian investigation published Wednesday as a podcast episode.
The Guardian reported that the administration has struck agreements with 35 countries and sent as many as 25,000 migrants to destinations they have no prior ties to since the policy began in 2025. Other cases documented in the reporting include an Iranian dissident sent to the Central African Republic and a Cameroonian deported to Equatorial Guinea, the Guardian said.
The reporting was conducted by Guardian investigations correspondent Louisa Loveluck as part of a consortium of journalists organised by Forbidden Stories. The podcast, hosted by Guardian “Today in Focus” anchor Annie Kelly, asks whether the practice is legal and what happens to people once they are removed to unfamiliar countries, the Guardian said.
The investigation frames broader questions about the third-country deportation policy, including whom it targets and the circumstances under which receiving countries accept migrants with no connection to them.