Liberia receives first group of US deportees under new migration pact

The first group of United States deportees has arrived in Liberia, marking the initial implementation of a bilateral agreement to transfer up to 1,200 third-country nationals to the West African country over the coming year. The flight, which landed at Roberts International Airport in Monrovia on Thursday, carried 20 individuals largely from Venezuela and Cuba.

Upon arrival, the group was transported by bus and taken into custody by Liberian authorities without being granted the opportunity to speak to reporters. This move forms part of a broader administrative strategy to relocate foreign nationals to countries other than their countries of origin, a trend that has expanded significantly since President Donald Trump took office for a second term in 2025.

According to the nonprofit Human Rights First, the US administration has signed deals with at least 35 countries to accept third-country deportees. While the US awarded Liberia $5m this year for “migration management activities,” the Liberian Ministry of Information has sought to distance the arrangement from purely financial motivations. The ministry stated that the transfer was “not a transaction with a quid pro quo,” asserting that Liberia had not demanded or received compensation in exchange for its consent to participate.

Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah indicated that the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations refugee agency would assist in providing services to the deportees. The government has clarified that the individuals are not “criminals” and are free to apply for asylum or depart the country at their discretion. The ministry highlighted Liberia’s historical role as a refuge, noting that the nation was founded for freed slaves from the United States and other regions.

Critics, however, have raised concerns that smaller nations are being utilised as a “dumping ground” for US deportees, questioning whether these individuals will have adequate access to necessary resources. Some observers have described the practice as excessively punitive, particularly for migrants stranded in countries where they may not speak the local language. The US administration has framed these removals as a necessary measure for deterrence, targeting immigrants whose home countries refuse to accept them.

The broader impact of this strategy is evident in other regions, with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo estimating that roughly 2,300 Mexican citizens have been deported from the US to Guatemala this year. Arevalo noted that these individuals are processed as in transit in coordination with Mexican immigration authorities, a manoeuvre reported by media outlets as an effort to disincentivise Mexican nationals from returning to the US without legal status.