Rabbiatu is deported to Sierra Leone despite a court order
Quick Look
- After four months in detention in Louisiana, the migrant Rabbiatu is deported to Ghana by US authorities, even though she has never lived there.
- In Accra she is taken to a guarded hotel and is supposed to be taken there despite a US judge ruling that prohibits deportation to Sierra Leone.
- The officials ignore the court order and try to force them to the airport.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Rabbiatu spent four months in custody in Louisiana after being arrested by U.S. authorities. She is originally from West Africa but was deported to Ghana, a country she does not know. She is said to have been mistreated in Sierra Leone during the civil war in the 1990s, which is why a US judge has banned her deportation there.
After four months in Louisiana, Rabbiatu thinks she can finally go home. But things turn out differently: ICE officers put them on a plane to Ghana. A country that doesn't know Rabbiatu. Together with other deported migrants, she is taken to a hotel in the capital Accra. It is guarded by police officers and Rabbiatu is not allowed to leave the hotel.
After a few days, the officials say to Rabbiatu: You are coming to Sierra Leone. She says Rabbiatu was mistreated there during the civil war in the 1990s. A US judge has ruled that she cannot be deported there. But the officials in Ghana don't care. They try to drag Rabbiatu out of the hotel and take him to the airport.
Mohamed vs. ICE – An American Nightmare is a podcast series from What Now? and the investigative department of ZEIT.
Moderation, script and research: Mounia Meiborg
Research: Yassin Musharbash, Martín Steinhagen, Kai Biermann, Sascha Venohr, forbidden stories
Editors: Helena Schmidt and André Dér-Hörmeyer
Production and sound design: Joscha Grunewald and Markus Brille
Project management: Constanze Kainz
Thanks to: Andrea Böhm, Bastian Berbner, Hannah Grünewald, Celine Rolle, Emma Möllenbrock
You are welcome to send us your feedback and thoughts about this series to [email protected]
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What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Legal action is being taken against ICE for violating the US judge's order.
Likely · Within weeks
The Ghanaian government will publicly comment on the use of its country as a transit country for controversial US deportations.
Possible · Within days
Open Questions
- Why was Rabbiatu originally arrested in Louisiana?
- What legal action will be taken against illegal deportation?
- How is the Ghanaian government reacting to the use of its country as a transit country for controversial deportations?
- Are there similar cases in which US authorities ignore court orders?
