Sahel Reporter

In a decisive move that signals a turning point in West Africa’s stance on U.S. migration policy, Ivory Coast has turned down a American proposal to accept deportees from the United States—individuals who are not necessarily Ivorian nationals. This breakthrough refusal, revealed in a Washington Post investigation published on September 21, 2026, comes amid a surge in third-country expulsions under the Trump administration.

In mid-June 2026, a U.S. State Department official traveled to Abidjan as part of a diplomatic tour across West and Central Africa.

Christian Ehrhardt, who heads the State Department’s Office of Remigration, was seeking to persuade several African governments to take in people expelled from the United States even though they are not citizens of those countries.

According to the Washington Post investigation, the talks in Abidjan did not succeed. Ivorian authorities reportedly rejected the American proposal.

A new U.S. policy of third-country deportations

This approach is part of a broader Trump administration policy aimed at expanding deportations to third countries.

The principle is relatively unprecedented: a person can be deported from the United States to a country of which they are not a national and with which they may have no prior connection.

According to internal State Department data reviewed by the Washington Post, by the end of June 2026, the U.S. administration had authorized or promised at least $410 million to facilitate agreements with 31 countries, mainly in Africa and Latin America.

Since 2025, more than 25,000 people have reportedly been deported to at least 28 third countries, according to the analysis conducted for the Washington Post investigation based on multiple independent sources.

Some countries have accepted foreign nationals in exchange for funding or other forms of aid. The Washington Post notably reports direct financial commitments to several governments.

Abidjan rejects the arrangement

It is against this backdrop that Christian Ehrhardt’s mission to Ivory Coast takes on particular significance.

The American official, who leads a bureau of about fifteen people within the State Department, was tasked with negotiating with foreign governments to accept people deported from the United States.

But in Abidjan, the American proposal reportedly did not secure an agreement.

Moreover, Ivory Coast does not appear, in the U.S. data made public for June 2026, among the countries that have concluded such an operational agreement.

A decision in a sensitive context

The issue of third-country deportations is particularly controversial.

The U.S. administration presents this policy as a way to return individuals subject to removal orders when their home countries refuse or are unable to take them back.

However, human rights organizations and lawyers for deportees contest certain aspects of the system, particularly the guarantees offered to affected individuals before their transfer to a third country.

The Washington Post also reports that a U.S. federal appeals court ruled in September 2026 that this policy was illegal in a case concerning the lack of sufficient safeguards for the individuals involved. The Trump administration was expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.

By Paul Ndongo — Grand reporter politique