Deported migrant who '60 Minutes' painted as sympathetic family man claimed he was gay on asylum application

Malian national Moussa Diawara was the subject of a sympathetic "60 Minutes" segment after he was deported by the Trump administration. (Screenshot/60 Minutes)

Sunday's "60 Minutes" featured the story of a deported Malian national who was painted as a loving husband and father despite insisting he was homosexual on his asylum application.

The CBS News segment focused on Moussa Diawara and his family, speaking to his wife, 16-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter. But the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says Diawara, who arrived in the United States in 2001, is actually an example of widespread fraud throughout the immigration system.

"The ‘60 Minutes’ sob story tonight highlighted an illegal alien and his wife and two children. One problem. The illegal alien claimed he was a HOMOSEXUAL in order to try and dodge deportation to Mali," ICE posted on X.

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"60 Minutes" aired a phone conversation between Malian national Moussa Diawara from an undisclosed location in Africa and his family who are in the US.  (Screenshots/60 Minutes)

Fox News exclusively obtained Diawara’s 2009 asylum application in which he declared that he needed to remain in America because he was a gay man who could be killed if sent back to his native country.

"My asylum application is based upon ground of well founded past persecution and an undisputable fear of life threatening to my person if I were to return to my country Mali. In fact I had experienced extreme punishment and persecution based on the ground of my sexual orientation," Diawara wrote in his asylum application.

"Since I came to the USA I had the possibilities to express my feelings to men without any embarrassment no reserve. Indeed, my tribal group and community as a whole had reported my sexual orientation to my family back home because such behavior is unwelcome in my society," he continued. "My life is hence worth threatened if I have to go back to my country because I could be executed either by the Islamic group or the community."

Diawara also wrote in the application that he was "banished" from attending Malian activities because he’s "a homosexual," who has received threats.

"These are the reasons why I applied for asylum in the USA to seek protection from the US government," Diawara wrote.

DHS General Counsel James Percival, who was interviewed in the "60 Minutes" segment, took to social media after it aired, saying the newsmagazine made Diawara the "poster child for what it claims are wrongful deportations."

"His claimed reason for fearing Mali was that he is ‘gay,’ just in case you’re wondering how bad the immigration fraud problem is," Percival wrote.

The segment put a spotlight on Diawara, who was living in the U.S. for 25 years without a criminal record, overstaying his tourist visa and getting nabbed by ICE and sent to Ghana, which ultimately sent him to his home country of Mali. According to the report, Diawara has since fled Mali to an undisclosed African country. 

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"60 Minutes" noted that a U.S. judge said Diawara could be persecuted in Mali, pointing to fears over converting to Christianity. However, the show did not mention that Diawara’s application contradicted his family man narrative and the reason why he claimed he couldn’t return to his native country was because of his sexual orientation.

During the segment, Percival noted that there is "a lot of fraud" in the immigration system and many "fear claims" are untrue.

A "60 Minutes" insider defended the integrity of the report, pointing to how Diawara's claim that "part of the reason he didn't feel safe" was for religious reasons made the broadcast. According to the report, he had converted to Christianity and Mali is a Muslim-majority nation.

"We also acknowledge that the DHS questioned the credibility of Moussa Diawara's fear of persecution, which they're claiming now on social media," the insider told Fox News Digital.

The segment was led by newly hired "60 Minutes" contributor Gianna Toboni. (Screenshot/60 Minutes)

The Department of Homeland Security told CBS News that Ghana had provided the U.S. with "diplomatic assurances for his safety."

It is unclear whether CBS News was aware of Diawara’s apparent application discrepancy when the "60 Minutes" segment aired. A spokesperson for the network declined to comment.

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Percival posted about his experience with "60 Minutes," saying he spoke for nearly an hour.

"In our conversation, we talked about the vicious killers and rapists we are removing to third countries and the fact that no President before President Trump removed these public safety threats from our community. Unfortunately, as they always do, they selectively edited the video and included none of that. They did promise they would publish the entire interview, so I look forward to my comments being posted in full this week," Percival wrote.

Percival did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

The official ICE account on X ALSO wrote, "Fake & Gay! Moussa Diawara, the Malian national featured in this shockingly poorly researched @60Minutes report, now faces allegations of immigration FRAUD after his asylum application surfaced, revealing that he claimed to be a HOMOSEXUAL man who feared persecution in Mali."

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