Ten Deportees Say ICE Officers Beat Them and Denied Medical Care on the Flight to Liberia; DHS Calls the Report 'GARBAGE'

The New York Times reported on Aug. 30, 2026 that ten people deported to Liberia described abusive or violent treatment by ICE officers. Leonardo Sanchez, a Cuban deportee, said officers twisted the handcuffs of four men who refused to disembark in Monrovia and pressed knees onto their necks. Others said ICE denied medical care to detainees including pregnant women. Homeland Security denied it, posting that "NO ONE is being tortured, denied medical care, or beaten in ICE detention facilities" and calling the report "GARBAGE."

The accounts are contested and come from the deportees themselves rather than from records or officials. They concern removals to a country to which those deported had no ties.

No investigation or court finding has been announced, and DHS has not addressed the incidents.