Liberia to Accept 1,200 US-Deported Migrants

By Staff, Agencies

Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country migrants deported from the United States under a controversial arrangement promoted by the Trump administration as part of its broader immigration crackdown.

The transfers will take place over one year, with the first group of 20 migrants expected to arrive in the West African country on Thursday, Liberia's Ministry of Information said Tuesday.

The arrangement, concluded through an exchange of diplomatic notes in September 2025, covers medically cleared nationals of "African and Western Hemisphere countries." Those transferred may apply for asylum in Liberia or voluntarily leave the country, according to the ministry.

The government said the deportees "are not criminals" and will be treated as guests rather than prisoners, with Liberia providing protection and support during their stay.

Monrovia stressed that the arrangement "is not a transaction with a quid pro quo" and that Liberia "has not demanded or received any compensation or promise of reward."

However, it said the country "will receive support to help manage the program and strengthen its migration system more broadly," without disclosing the value or terms of that assistance.

The agreement is among the largest reached under Trump's expanding third-country deportation policy, which allows Washington to remove migrants to countries where they have no citizenship or established ties, including when their home governments refuse to receive them.

A coalition of rights lawyers and advocates, including the Global Strategic Litigation Council, has accused Washington of using third-country transfers to bypass protection orders and expose migrants to persecution or torture.

Thousands of migrants have reportedly been transferred to nearly two dozen countries, including around 10 African states.

Ghana, Eswatini, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, and the Central African Republic are among the African countries that have accepted third-country deportees.