Deportees allege officers used force after refusing to leave flight to Liberia
Sep 6, 2026

Ten deportees said officers used force against them after they refused to leave a flight to Liberia, a country several said they had no connection to, according to a New York Times account. Border czar Tom Homan said he doubted the specific allegations but that they would be investigated, while DHS separately called the newspaper's account a hoax. The incident adds to scrutiny over how the government verifies deportees' citizenship or ties before third-country removal flights depart, as the administration expands deals with African nations to accept people who are not their citizens.
Sources
- Reuters
- He wanted mass deportations. ICE deported him in a day. Now he's fighting back.
latintimes.com·Sep 6, 2026·archived copy
- Deportees say ICE agents assaulted, restrained, and denied them medical care and bathroom access on Liberia deportation flight
standingrecord.com·Sep 1, 2026·archived copy
- 10bmnews.com
- prescottenews.com
Related incidents
- Cuban man detained in Florida, deported to Central African Republic, held in BanguiOct 6, 2026 · West Palm Beach, FL
- Texas pastor deported to Ghana, a country he has never visitedOct 6, 2026 · Mesquite, TX
- Laotian man released after year in Eswatini prison following U.S. deportationOct 4, 2026 · Matsapha, Eswatini
- Nicaraguan exiles stripped of citizenship detained, face deportation risk in USOct 2, 2026
- Refugee deported to Equatorial Guinea despite protection order, beaten in custodyOct 2, 2026
- Burundi agrees to accept US third-country deportees from other nationsSep 30, 2026