First US deportees arrive in Liberia under controversial third-country deal

Twenty migrants deported from the United States have arrived in Liberia, the first group of up to 1,200 people the West African country says it will receive under a new agreement. The arrangement has drawn concern from immigration lawyers over the rights of deportees sent to countries they do not call home.

The 20 migrants landed at Roberts International Airport outside Monrovia on Thursday, marking the start of a programme that could see as many as 1,200 people transferred to Liberia from the United States.

Liberian authorities say the deportees may include nationals from Africa as well as people from North and South America and the Caribbean.

The agreement is part of a broader US immigration policy under President Donald Trump that has involved sending deportees to third countries rather than directly to their countries of origin.

Questions over legal protections

Immigration lawyers and advocates have raised concerns that such arrangements could be used to bypass normal protections for asylum-seekers.

They argue that transferring people to countries they have no connection to could expose them to further uncertainty and potentially undermine their ability to seek protection.

Liberian authorities, however, say those arriving under the agreement will have options once in the country.

Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh has said deportees who wish to remain can apply for asylum in Liberia, while those who do not want to stay can leave the country.

One of the largest African deals

Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah said those being sent to Liberia could come from a wide range of nationalities.

The Liberia-US agreement is reportedly among the largest of a series of arrangements under which the Trump administration has deported migrants to countries other than their own.

Advocates say roughly 11 such agreements involve African countries, making the continent a major destination in the expansion of the US third-country deportation policy.

Washington defends immigration policy

The US State Department declined to provide details of the agreement with Liberia but said carrying out the Trump administration's immigration policies remained a top priority.

The department said the United States was committed to ending what it described as illegal and mass immigration and strengthening border security.

The arrival of the first deportees is likely to intensify debate over how third-country deportations are conducted, what legal safeguards apply and whether receiving countries can adequately protect people transferred under such agreements.

Liberia faces new responsibilities

For Liberia, the agreement brings both diplomatic and humanitarian responsibilities as it prepares for potentially hundreds more arrivals.

Authorities will have to manage accommodation, legal status and access to asylum procedures for people who may have little connection to the country.

The first arrivals therefore represent not just the beginning of a new bilateral arrangement, but a test of how third-country deportation agreements affect the rights and choices of those sent thousands of kilometres from the countries where they had been living.