NewzThe West African nation announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the US in the next 12 months. Under a series of often-secret agreements, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that aren't their own, advocates say, with about 10 of them in Africa. Twenty migrants deported from the United States arrived in Liberia Thursday, AFP journalists saw, the first of up to 1,200 foreign nationals the west African country has agreed to accept.
Liberia is the latest African country to agree to take in migrants deported under US President Donald Trump’s contested immigration crackdown. A plane bringing the 20 people touched down at the country’s international airport shortly before 1:00 pm local time (1300 GMT). They boarded a bus, which then left the airport near the capital, Monrovia.
Staff from the Liberian Commission on Repatriation, Resettlement and Reintegration were seen taking care of the new arrivals. Reporters were kept at a distance and could not talk to them. Liberia announced on Tuesday it would accept up to 1,200 foreign nationals deported from the US within a year.
It said they were “free to depart the country when they so desire” or apply for asylum. The government said it “has not demanded or received any compensation or promise of rewards in exchange for its consent to participate in the programme”. Trump in his second term has expanded who is eligible for deportation, targeting those with legal protections that under previous administrations allowed them to live and work in the US for fear of persecution in their home countries.
Washington has argued that legally it is only barred from sending such people home directly. eks-lp/mrb/kjm/jj The post First US deportees land in Liberia appeared first on Vanguard News. HARBEL, Liberia (AP) — The United States on Thursday carried out its first deportation under an agreement for Liberia to accept up to 1,200 people who are not from the African country, one of the Trump administration's largest efforts yet to deport people to countries other than their own.The 20 deportees arrived at Roberts International Airport outside Monrovia.Deportees will include African nationals as well as nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean, according to Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah.
Liberian Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh has said they could seek asylum in the West African country if they wished.The U.S. State Department declined to answer questions about the Liberia agreement, but said that implementing the Trump administration’s immigration policies was a “top priority.” It said it was “unwavering in our commitment to end illegal and mass immigration and bolster America’s border security.”The U.S. Homeland Security Department declined to confirm Thursday's deportations “for operational security reasons” and referred additional questions to the State Department.Third-country agreements are often shrouded in secrecy.
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