Liberia Takes First Batch In US Third-Country Deportation Plan
By FRANKLIN FRANCIS FREY
First Arrivals Under 1,200-Person Agreement
LIBERIA has received the first group of 20 people deported from the United States under a controversial arrangement that could see up to 1,200 third-country nationals transferred to the West African country over the next 12 months.
The first group arrived at Roberts International Airport near Monrovia on 20 August 2026, marking a significant expansion of the United States’ policy of sending some deportees to countries other than their own.
Liberian officials said the group could include nationals from Africa, North and South America and the Caribbean. Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said most of those involved had immigration-related violations or offences. Officials also said the deportees could seek asylum in Liberia if they wished and would be free to leave the country.
A Wider US Deportation Strategy
The arrangement forms part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration enforcement strategy, under which the United States has negotiated agreements with countries willing to receive migrants who cannot readily be returned to their countries of origin.
Liberia is among several African countries involved in such arrangements. Others include Ghana, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Eswatini and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The policy has attracted legal and human-rights scrutiny because some migrants transferred under third-country arrangements had previously received protection from deportation to their home countries after US immigration authorities determined that they could face persecution or torture there.
Liberia Defends Humanitarian Role
Liberian authorities have described the programme as humanitarian and said the country will provide support to those transferred. The government has also said it will receive US assistance to help manage the programme and strengthen its migration system.
The first arrivals, however, were handled under tight security, with limited access for journalists. Reports from the airport said the deportees were taken away by bus after landing, while authorities restricted direct media contact. CBS reported that a small number initially resisted leaving the aircraft.
The arrangement therefore raises questions beyond the number of people involved, particularly about their legal status, protection, accommodation and long-term options once they arrive in Liberia.
