Liberia has agreed to receive a maximum of 1,200 deportees from the United States over the next 12 months, according to a statement from the Liberian government. The initial group of 20 deportees is expected to arrive on Thursday. The statement specified that the deportees will consist of individuals from African and Western Hemisphere countries who have been medically cleared for travel.
The nationalities of the deportees have not been disclosed as the U.S. State Department does not release such information. While historically, the U.S. has upheld the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return of individuals to countries where their human rights may be at risk, recent agreements under the Trump administration have seen deportations to third countries.
President Donald Trump’s administration has entered into agreements with various African nations and other countries to deport individuals who cannot be sent back to their home countries legally. These agreements have been defended as lawful, with minimal judicial intervention despite concerns over lack of notice given to deportees.
Critics, including immigration lawyers, view these third-country deportations as exploiting legal loopholes, forcing migrants to return to unfamiliar places and navigate their way back to their home countries. Liberia, following discussions with Trump, has agreed to accept deportees as guests who are free to leave or seek asylum within Liberia without any compensation demands from Monrovia.
Senate Democrats have raised concerns about the exploitative nature of such agreements, citing substantial costs to American taxpayers for deals with countries like Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini, and Palau. These agreements have been characterized as leveraging deportation as a bargaining tool through undisclosed cash payments and concessions.
In addition to Liberia, other African nations like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Ghana, and Sierra Leone have also accepted third-country deportees from the U.S. The Trump administration’s strategy to reduce the foreign-born population includes encouraging self-deportation and revoking visas of foreign nationals. Recent court decisions have allowed the administration to terminate legal protections for individuals from countries like Ethiopia, South Sudan, Myanmar, and Somalia.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have criticized the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections, arguing that it could negatively impact the economy and essential sectors like construction and healthcare. The move has also been criticized for its potential impact on demographic challenges faced by the U.S. due to retirements and declining birth rates.