Liberia agrees to take 1,200 deportees from the United States

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MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States, authorities in the West African country said Tuesday, in one of the largest such arrangements under the Trump administration’s policy aimed at deterring illegal migration.

The deportees will be received within a year, with the first batch of 20 expected on Thursday, Liberia’s Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah told reporters. The 1,200 deportees will include Africans as well as nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean, Piah said.

The administration has struck several such third-country deportation deals with African countries. Under a series of often-secret agreements that are part of a broad U.S. crackdown on illegal immigration, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own, advocates say.

A key issue in the agreements is that they can involve migrants with protection orders from a U.S. immigration judge not to be returned to their home countries because of concerns for their safety. The Liberian minister did not say if the deportees expected in Liberia had such protection orders.

They “may wish to seek asylum” in Liberia after their arrival or “can leave the country whenever they desire,” Piah said.

Piah added that Liberia will receive support from the U.S. to manage the program and strengthen its migration system.

“Liberia’s gesture is entirely humanitarian and in keeping with the country’s longstanding traditions,” he said.