A plane carrying nine US deportees arrived in Sierra Leone on Wednesday, a move widely condemned by rights groups and experts.

The West African country joins several other nations on the continent that have agreed to receive third-country migrants deported from the US. D

espite external criticism, Washington’s immigration crackdown — which has led to the lowest number of undocumented crossings of its southern border in years — remains broadly popular among Republican voters; a recent poll showed more than three-quarters want the next party candidate to keep the same direction on immigration. But the policy could have considerable economic consequences: A recent estimate suggests the crackdown could lead to almost $500 billion in lost tax revenue over the next decade.