Iowa City woman deported to Sierra Leone after Ivory Coast order

Fatou Traore, an Iowa City resident who had lived in the city for two decades, was deported from the United States to Sierra Leone on Oct. 12, 2026, Iowa Public Radio reported. The removal took her to a country other than Ivory Coast, the country covered by a 2011 immigration order in her case.

Iowa Public Radio reported that Traore is a national of Ivory Coast and that an immigration judge granted her withholding of removal to that country in 2011. The reported order concerned return to Ivory Coast; it was not described as a bar on removal to every other country. Iowa Public Radio also reported that Traore worked at a University of Iowa hospital.

KCRG reported that immigration authorities arrested Traore on Sept. 24, 2026, and deported her before an immigration judge ruled on a motion seeking to pause her removal if granted. KCRG also reported that she was denied a fear interview. Those are accounts of events in her individual case, not findings by a court.

KCRG reported that Traore has four children in Iowa. Her son, Esoumaila Diallo, appealed for help bringing her back, the station reported. Local religious leaders and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks had sought Traore’s release or a stay before she was deported, according to KCRG.

An advocate told Iowa Public Radio that Sierra Leone might send Traore onward to Ivory Coast, the country covered by her withholding order. That was a concern raised by the advocate, not a reported transfer. Iowa Public Radio did not report that Traore had been returned to Ivory Coast.

A separate Supreme Court dispute concerns third-country removals

Traore’s deportation came amid a broader legal dispute over third-country removals, in which the United States sends people to countries other than their country of origin. The Associated Press reported that the Supreme Court temporarily lifted lower-court restrictions requiring migrants to have an opportunity to object before such removals. The temporary order allowed removals to resume while the justices considered the broader policy.

The Supreme Court’s temporary action did not decide whether third-country removals are ultimately legal. The Associated Press reported that arguments on the broader dispute were scheduled for December 2026. That case is separate from Traore’s individual proceedings; KCRG reported that an immigration judge had not ruled on her stay motion before her deportation.