Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States over the next year, marking one of the largest such arrangements under the Trump administration's intensified immigration enforcement policies. The first group of 20 deportees is expected to arrive on Thursday.
Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah stated that the deportees will include individuals from Africa, North America, South America, and the Caribbean. He noted that those arriving in Liberia may seek asylum or depart the country at their discretion. Liberia will receive financial and technical support from the U.S. to manage the program and bolster its migration system.
Piah described Liberia's commitment as humanitarian and consistent with the nation's traditions, emphasizing that the government intends to offer necessary support to ensure the safety and protection of the transferred individuals.
Under the Trump administration, thousands of people have reportedly been deported to countries that are not their own, through a series of agreements, some of which have been undisclosed. Immigration lawyers have expressed concerns that these arrangements may serve as a legal mechanism to compel asylum seekers to return to their home countries, even when those countries pose safety risks. In some instances, migrants have been deported to unfamiliar countries where they face perilous conditions, leaving them with few options other than to return to the very places they sought to escape.
The deportees accepted by Liberia may include individuals who have received protection orders from U.S. immigration judges against returning to their home countries due to safety concerns, though Piah did not confirm if the arriving deportees fall into this category.