Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third country deportees from the United States over the next year, with an initial group of 20 people expected to arrive in the West African country on Thursday, the Liberian government said on Tuesday.
The agreement is the latest arrangement between the Trump administration and an African government to receive migrants whom the United States cannot legally deport directly to their home countries.
Many of those being transferred have secured legal protection against repatriation after U.S. immigration judges determined they could face torture or other forms of abuse if returned to their countries of origin.
The Liberian government said the deportees would include citizens or nationals of African and Western Hemisphere countries who have been medically cleared to travel. Some of those arriving may also seek asylum in Liberia, it said.
The U.S. government has defended third-country deportation agreements as lawful. However, human rights organisations and immigration advocates have criticised the arrangements, saying the terms are often unclear and that some deportees are eventually sent back to their countries of origin.
Liberia joins several other African countries that have agreed to accept third country deportees from the United States, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
The agreement comes as the Trump administration continues to expand efforts to remove migrants who are unable to be directly repatriated because of legal or humanitarian restrictions.
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