Liberia has agreed to receive around 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States over the next year, with an initial batch of 20 expected to land on Thursday, according to an official announcement. The Liberian government stated that the deportees will consist of individuals from African and Western Hemisphere nations who have been medically cleared for travel.
Specific details about the nationalities of the deportees were not immediately available as the U.S. State Department does not typically disclose such information. While the U.S. has previously adhered to the principle of non-refoulement in immigration law, the current administration under President Donald Trump has engaged in agreements with various African nations and others globally to deport individuals who cannot be sent back to their home countries legally.
Immigration attorneys have criticized these third-country deportations as exploiting legal loopholes, often leaving migrants deported to unfamiliar places with limited options to return to their home countries. Liberian President Joseph Boakai was part of a delegation of West African leaders who visited the White House last year, where Trump encouraged them to accept third-country deportees.
Liberia emphasized that the deportees will be treated as guests and can leave at their discretion or apply for asylum within Liberia. The government clarified that the agreement was not tied to any quid pro quo with the U.S., and there were no demands for compensation for hosting the deportees.
In a February report, Senate Democrats raised concerns about the exploitative nature of such agreements, highlighting that deals with countries like Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini, and Palau had cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars. Several other African nations, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, have also accepted third-country deportees from the U.S.
This move is part of the Trump administration’s broader strategy to reduce the foreign-born population in the U.S., which includes encouraging unauthorized individuals to self-deport and revoking visas from foreign nationals. Recent court decisions have allowed the administration to terminate legal protections for various immigrant groups, arguing that such protections were not intended to be permanent solutions.
Critics, including organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have voiced concerns about the economic impact and treatment of migrants amid these deportation actions.
