Ivory Coast has turned down a US proposal to accept deportees from the United States who are not necessarily Ivorian citizens, igniting a broader conversation about national sovereignty and the future of global migration policy. The refusal, brought to light by internal documents and diplomatic sources, comes as the Trump administration intensifies its push to send expelled migrants to third countries.
In mid-June 2026, a senior official from the US State Department traveled to Abidjan as part of a diplomatic tour across West and Central Africa.
Christian Ehrhardt, who leads the State Department’s Office of Remigration, was tasked with persuading African governments to accept individuals deported from the US even though they hold no citizenship in those nations.
Discussions in Abidjan ultimately stalled, and Ivorian authorities declined the American request, according to an investigation by The Washington Post published on September 21, 2026.
A deepening US strategy: deportations to third countries
The visit was part of a wider Trump administration effort to expand deportations to so-called third countries.
The concept is relatively new: a person can be expelled from the United States to a nation where they are not a citizen and with which they may have no prior ties.
Internal State Department data reviewed by The Washington Post shows that by the end of June 2026, the US government had authorized or pledged at least $410 million to facilitate agreements with 31 countries, primarily in Africa and Latin America.
Since 2025, more than 25,000 individuals have reportedly been deported to at least 28 third countries, based on an analysis for the Washington Post investigation drawing on multiple independent sources.
Some countries have agreed to take foreign nationals in exchange for funding or other forms of aid, with reports pointing to direct financial commitments to several governments.
Abidjan’s firm rejection
It is against this backdrop that Ehrhardt’s mission to Ivory Coast gained particular significance.
The US official, who heads a bureau of about fifteen people within the State Department, was tasked with negotiating with foreign governments to accept deportees from the United States.
But in Abidjan, the American proposal did not secure an agreement.
Ivory Coast does not appear among the countries that concluded an operational agreement of this type in US data released for June 2026.
Fallout and controversy
The issue of deportations to third countries is highly contentious.
The US administration frames the policy as a way to remove individuals subject to deportation orders when their home countries refuse or are unable to take them back.
Human rights organizations and lawyers representing deportees have challenged certain aspects of the system, particularly the safeguards provided to individuals before their transfer to a third country.
The Washington Post also reported that a US federal appeals court ruled in September 2026 that the policy was illegal in a case concerning the lack of sufficient guarantees for those affected. The Trump administration was expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.
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