US deports 20 people to Liberia, the first of 1,200 migrants under Trump deal

On Thursday, 20 individuals were deported from the United States to Liberia, marking the first wave of a planned 1,200 migrants under an agreement between the two nations. This significant deportation effort is part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, which has led to the transfer of thousands of people to various countries.

The group landed at Roberts International Airport in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. The Liberian information minister, Jerolinmek Piah, stated that the 1,200 deportees would consist of African nationals, along with individuals from North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Liberia's justice minister, Natu Oswald Tweh, disclosed during a briefing on Tuesday that the majority of these deportees had violated migration laws and could potentially seek asylum in Liberia if they chose to.

As part of the deal, the US will extend visitor visas for Liberians from 12 to 36 months and commit $124 million in assistance. This arrangement is one of the largest third-country deportation agreements pursued by the administration since Trump took office last year. According to a report by Refugees International and Human Rights First, the Trump administration has reached deals with at least 35 countries and has deported approximately 23,000 people to 26 of them, making the Liberia deal the largest single arrangement so far.

Immigration lawyers have criticized the administration's use of deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to force asylum seekers back to their home countries, often placing them in unsafe situations where they have little choice but to return to the very places they were trying to escape. A February report by Senate foreign relations committee Democrats revealed that the Trump administration had paid over $32 million to five governments, including Rwanda and Equatorial Guinea, for the acceptance of about 300 third-country deportees.

The report also highlighted that over 80% of those sent to third countries had returned home, often at additional taxpayer expense, and cited instances where deportees with court-ordered protections were removed to Ghana and Equatorial Guinea before being sent onward. The State Department refuted the report's characterization of its enforcement efforts.