The West African country of Liberia is accepting 1,200 migrants who are being deported from the United States. The migrants are from Liberia and are being deported because their Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, was ended in 2018. The TPS program allowed people from countries hit by war, natural disasters or other crises to stay and work in the US. The first group of 200 deportees is due to arrive in Liberia on February 15. The US Department of Homeland Security said it expected the deportations to continue until June 2022. The US has had a special arrangement with Liberia since 1991, when it gave Liberians TPS status because of a civil war. The status was extended several times, most recently in 2017, but was ended by the administration of President Donald Trump. The US said it had given 2,750 Liberians a chance to stay, but many did not qualify. The US has also deported hundreds of people from Haiti and El Salvador who were also covered by TPS.

The Liberian government has agreed to receive up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States, according to the Associated Press. This is the largest agreement of its kind, as part of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies. Liberian Ambassador to the United States, Jeroline Mek, stated that the deportees will be received within a year, with 20 arriving on the 20th.

Ambassador Mek added that the 1,200 deportees will include not only African nationals but also those from North, South, and Caribbean nations. The United States has deported an estimated few hundred people to approximately 20 countries other than its own, with about 10 of these being African nations. Immigration law experts have criticized the Trump administration for abusing third-country deportations to indirectly send asylum seekers back to their home countries, often where they face safety risks.

Many of these individuals are refused protection by U.S. immigration courts, leaving them with no other options but to return to their home country. The agreement's core contention is whether deportees protected by U.S. immigration courts from being sent back to their home countries will be included. Liberian Ambassador to the United States, Jeroline Mek, did not disclose whether such protection orders have been issued for the deportees.

National Security Minister Natu Oswald Twene announced that before their arrival, a list of deportees has been vetted, with most being individuals who have violated immigration laws or committed crimes. He added that deportees can choose to leave Liberia at any time after their arrival and will receive necessary assistance to safely stay in the country.

Liberia, established in 1847 by American freed slaves and free black Africans in West Africa, has a close historical relationship with the United States.