War Criminal Liberian Sent Packing By ICE Because Of 'Lack of Credibility'

ATLANTA, GA- A Liberian national who entered the United States under a visitor’s visa on March 27, 2014 and later married a U.S. citizen has been successfully removed to Liberia after an immigration judge denied her application for permanent residency, ruling she “lacked credibility” and “had used or recruited child soldiers” during Liberia’s civil wars, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced in a news release. 

Mayama Sesay, 43, known as the rebel commander “Black Diamond,” allegedly played a major role in recruiting and leading child soldiers during those civil wars.

She commanded an all-female group of fighters called the “Women’s Artillery Commandos,” part of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, a rebel group opposed to then-Liberian President Charles Taylor. 

Sesay was only 22 years old when she recruited and trained child soldiers to fight against Taylor’s forces. Sesay “gained notoriety for her brutal tactics, including restraining, beating captured soldiers, and deploying mortar bombs to terrorize and kill military personnel and civilians.

She has been designated a war criminal in Liberia. 

During her immigration interview, Sesay denied being “Black Diamond” or having any affiliation with the rebel group.

However, the judge wasn’t buying it and ordered her removal to Liberia on May 26, 2022, a decision later affirmed by the Board of Immigration Appeals. On April 19, 2025, ICE Atlanta officers took her into custody. 

The case was prosecuted by the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in Atlanta, with support from the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC), led by Homeland Security Investigations.

HRVWCC “plays a critical role in identifying, locating, and prosecuting human rights abusers in the United States, including individuals involved in war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutiliation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers.” 

“Since its inception in 2003, the [HRVWCC] has issued more than 79,000 lookouts for suspected human rights violators and prevented over 390 individuals from entering the United States.” 

The Department of Homeland Security asks anyone with information about potential human rights violators living in the U.S. to contact law enforcement through the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE or by filling out an online tip form. Tips can also be emailed to HRV.ICE@ice.dhs.gov.