The United States has sent 20 deportees to Liberia, who arrived at Roberts international airport outside Monrovia on Thursday. This group is the first under a new agreement for Liberia to receive 1,200 migrants.
According to Liberian information minister Jerolinmek Piah, the 1,200 deportees will include nationals from African countries, as well as North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Liberia's justice minister, Natu Oswald Tweh, stated on Tuesday that most of the deportees had committed migration-related violations and offenses, and they could seek asylum in the West African country.
This Liberia-US agreement is described as one of the largest third-country deportations driven by the Trump administration's immigration policies. Immigration lawyers suggest that the Trump administration uses such third-country deportations as a legal loophole, potentially forcing asylum seekers back to their home countries.