Liberia agrees to accept up to 1,200 US deportees under Trump migration deal

Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 people deported from the United States, authorities in the West African country said Tuesday in one of the largest such arrangements under the Trump administration’s policy aimed at deterring illegal migration.

The deportees will be received over the course of a year with the first group of 20 expected to arrive Thursday, Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah told reporters in the capital Monrovia on Tuesday.

“Those to be transferred from the United States of America to Liberia will include citizens or nationals of African and Western hemisphere countries who are medically authorized to travel,” Piah added.

The Trump administration has reached several agreements with African countries to accept deportees from third countries. Under a series of often-secret arrangements as part of a broader U.S. crackdown on illegal immigration, the administration has deported thousands of people to countries other than their own, advocates say.

A key issue with the agreements is that they can involve migrants who have protection orders from U.S. immigration judges barring their return to their home countries because of concerns for their safety. Piah did not say whether any of those expected to arrive in Liberia have such protection orders.

The deportees “may wish to seek asylum” in Liberia after their arrival or “can leave the country whenever they desire,” Piah said. Liberia will receive U.S. support to manage the program and strengthen its migration system, he added.