Trump deals send LGBT migrants to Africa

The deported describe abuse, life in hiding.

One Essential Read One Essential Read Recommended by Kate Turton, Newsletter Editor Trump's deportation push forces dozens of LGBT migrants onto hostile terrain   Latifou, a gay Togolese man who says he was forced onto a US deportation flight to a third country before relocating to Ivory Coast. REUTERS/Luc Gnago Abdou Latifou was attacked by a mob in Togo that threatened to kill him after he was seen kissing the man he loved. He fled his home in the West African nation and sought refuge in the United States, but in June, he was forced onto a US deportation plane to Sierra Leone, a nation where gay men can be sentenced to life in prison. Now in Ivory Coast, Latifou is one of 40 cases Reuters has documented in which migrants were granted US legal protection after being persecuted for being LGBT, then deported to third countries. Those countries either criminalize same-sex relations or have been described by the State Department as hostile to LGBT people. More than 40,000 people in total have been deported to countries not their own by ICE and Border Patrol since President Donald Trump's return to office, according to preliminary government data shared with Reuters. Read the full article   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website   Reuters One Essential Read is sent three days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions   © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036