First Deportees from US Arrive in Liberia Under Deal to Accept 1,200 People

The first group of deportees, out of an expected 1,200, landed at Roberts International Airport in Monrovia, Liberia, from the United States on Thursday. The flight is part of the expanding trend of deporting third-country nationals under US President Donald Trump's administration, whereby foreign citizens are sent to countries other than their own.

The inaugural flight carried 20 people, mostly from Latin American countries such as Venezuela and Cuba. After landing, the group boarded buses and were taken away by Liberian authorities without being allowed to speak to reporters.

The flight follows an agreement announced Tuesday between the US and Liberia to send up to 1,200 deportees to the African nation over the next year. Liberia joins a growing list of countries that have signed deals with the Trump administration.

Since assuming office for a second term in 2025, President Trump has signed agreements with at least 35 countries to accept third-country nationals deported from the US, according to the nonprofit organization Human Rights First. In return, some of these countries receive financial aid and trade agreements. Democratic senators estimated in February that at least $40 million had been spent on such deals during the first year of Trump's second term.

For instance, the US gave Liberia $5 million this year for migration management activities. However, in announcing the transfer agreement earlier this week, Liberia's Ministry of Information rejected any allegations that the country agreed to accept deportees for financial motives.

“The transfer of persons to Liberia is not a conditional exchange transaction. Liberia has not requested or received any compensation or promise of reward in exchange for agreeing to participate in this program,” the ministry's statement said.

Liberia's Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah also told Reuters that the International Organization for Migration and the UN refugee agency would help provide services to the deportees. Those sent to Liberia will be allowed to apply for asylum and are free to leave the country whenever they wish, according to Tuesday's statement.

Liberia insists the deportees are not criminals and are not being prosecuted in any form. The ministry stated: “Liberia, the first independent black African nation on the continent, has a long history of welcoming those seeking refuge from political and other crises. In fact, Liberia itself was established as a haven for freed slaves from the United States and other parts of the world.”

However, critics have questioned whether smaller nations in Africa and other regions are being used as “dumping grounds” for those deported by the US, and whether immigrants forcibly sent abroad have adequate access to the resources they need. Some describe third-country deportations as overly punitive, stranding migrants and asylum seekers in places where they may not even speak the local language.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration views third-country deportations as necessary for immigrants whose home countries won't accept them, and sees them as a deterrent. Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo estimated Thursday that about 2,300 Mexican citizens have been deported from the US to his country this year alone, instead of being sent directly back to Mexico.

Media, including CBS News, reported that the move is part of efforts to deter Mexican citizens from returning to the US without legal immigration status. Arevalo explained that such deportees are quickly returned to Mexico: “They arrive by plane together with deported Guatemalans, and what we do is process them as transit passengers, coordinating with Mexican immigration authorities.”