Liberia has agreed to receive a maximum of 1,200 deportees from the U.S. who are citizens or nationals of African and Western Hemisphere countries authorized for medical travel within the next year. The Liberian government announced that the initial group of 20 deportees is expected to arrive on Thursday.
The U.S. State Department has not disclosed the nationalities of the deportees. The Trump administration has made deals with various African countries and others to deport individuals who cannot be sent to their home countries. Despite criticisms regarding lack of notice to deportees, the U.S. government maintains that these third-country deportations are lawful.
Immigration lawyers suggest that the Trump administration exploits third-country deportations as a legal workaround, often sending migrants to unfamiliar places, leaving them with limited options to return to their home countries. President Joseph Boakai of Liberia, following a meeting with Trump, agreed to accept the deportees as guests who can leave at their discretion and apply for asylum in Liberia.
A report by Senate Democrats raised concerns about the exploitative nature of these agreements, highlighting costs incurred by American taxpayers due to deals with countries like Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini, and Palau. Other African nations that have accepted U.S. third-country deportees include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Ghana, and Sierra Leone.
The Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the foreign-born population in the U.S. include urging unauthorized individuals to self-deport and revoking visas from foreign nationals. Legal protections granted to thousands of Ethiopians to live and work in the U.S. have been terminated by the administration, following similar decisions affecting individuals from 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, citing potential negative impacts on the economy and sectors like construction and healthcare. The U.S. government argues that TPS was not intended to be a permanent status and that some recipients could have sought asylum upon arrival in the country.