Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 foreigners deported from the United States over the next year, in one of the largest third-country deportation arrangements reached by Washington as President Donald Trump’s administration intensifies its immigration crackdown.
The first group of 20 deportees is expected to arrive in Liberia on Thursday, according to Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah, who said they will be free to leave when they choose or apply for asylum. He added that none of those being sent to Liberia are criminals or facing prosecution in either the US or Liberia.
Piah said the deportees were being received as “guests” under a humanitarian arrangement, stressing that Liberia had agreed to the programme in line with its longstanding tradition of providing refuge to people fleeing persecution, wars and other conflicts.
It is unclear whether any of the deportees have legal protection preventing their return to their countries of origin. The nationalities of those being transferred to Liberia have also not been disclosed.
The Trump administration has deported dozens of people to so-called “third countries” since returning to power in January 2025.
Such arrangements involve countries receiving migrants whom the US cannot legally return to their countries of origin, often because they face risks such as persecution.
Several African countries, including Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone, have reached similar agreements with the US.
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Washington has defended the third-country arrangements as lawful, although rights groups have criticized them as lacking transparency. In some cases, deportees have eventually been returned to their countries of origin.
Ghana, for instance, has faced legal challenges over allegations that it forced some US deportees to return to countries they had fled, potentially violating their rights.
Eswatini said two people deported from the US to the southern African kingdom had voluntarily returned to their home countries, Mauritania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He confirmed last year that it had received $5.1 million from the Trump administration, amid criticism from rights groups over its participation in the programme.
Piah said Liberia had “not demanded or received any compensation or promise of rewards” in exchange for agreeing to participate.
He said the arrangement was “entirely humanitarian”, although Liberia would receive US support to manage the programme and strengthen its broader migration system. The US State Department has not commented publicly on the agreement.
Piah also cited Liberia’s history as a country established in the early 19th Century as a settlement for formerly enslaved and free Black people from the US and the Caribbean.
“We have always welcomed people who cannot return to their home of origin, and to reject these third-country nationals would be acting against our best interest,” he said.
BBC
