Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 people deported from the United States despite not being citizens of the West African country.
The arrangement is among the largest third-country deportation deals reached under US President Donald Trump’s intensified immigration enforcement programme.
Liberia’s Information Minister, Jerolinmek Piah, announced the agreement on Tuesday, saying the deportees would arrive in the country over a 12-month period.
He disclosed that the first batch of 20 deportees is expected to arrive on Thursday.
Piah said the group would comprise nationals from Africa, North America, South America and the Caribbean.
The agreement comes as the Trump administration continues to deport migrants to countries other than their countries of origin. Immigration advocates say thousands of people have been sent to nearly two dozen third countries under such arrangements, including several African nations.
The deals have attracted controversy because some migrants may have protection orders issued by US immigration judges preventing their removal to their home countries due to potential safety concerns.
Piah did not disclose whether any of the people being transferred to Liberia have such protection orders.
Liberia’s Justice Minister, Natu Oswald Tweh, said authorities had reviewed the list of individuals scheduled to arrive.
“Most of them are people who had immigration violations and offenses,” he said.
Piah said those transferred to Liberia would have the option of seeking asylum in the country or leaving if they chose to do so.
“They may wish to seek asylum” in Liberia after their arrival or “can leave the country whenever they desire,” he said.
He added that the US government would support Liberia financially and technically as it manages the programme and strengthens its migration system.
Piah described Liberia’s decision as a humanitarian gesture consistent with the country’s history.
“Liberia’s gesture is entirely humanitarian and in keeping with the country’s longstanding traditions,” he said.
“The government of Liberia intends to provide the transferred persons with the necessary support to seek protection in Liberia and to be safe during their stay here.”
Immigration lawyers have criticised the Trump administration’s use of third-country deportations, arguing that the policy could enable the US to indirectly return asylum seekers to countries they had fled.
They also raised concerns that some migrants are being sent to countries where they have no previous ties and may eventually have little choice but to return to their countries of origin, where they could face safety risks.
