Liberia's government has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the US over the next 12 months, with the first group of 20 expected to arrive on Thursday. The deal does not involve direct compensation for Liberia, but the country will receive support to manage the program and strengthen its migration system. This is part of a larger trend in which several African countries have reached similar agreements with the US, including Ghana, Sierra Leone, and others, often due to court orders that prevent deporting individuals back to their home countries because it would put them at risk. The agreement also references Liberia's history as a refuge for freed slaves from the US.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-20,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
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Story summary
20 people from the US arrived in Liberia on Thursday as part of a deal between the two countries to take in up to 1,200 third-country deportees over the next year. The group includes migrants from Latin American countries such as Cuba and Venezuela, as well as Africans and nationals from North America, South America, and the Caribbean. This agreement is one of several made by the Trump administration with African countries to take in people who cannot be deported back to their home countries due to concerns for their safety. The Liberian government has stated that it will receive $124 million in assistance from the US as part of the arrangement, and that the deportees will be allowed to apply for asylum or depart the country freely. A US official reported that a small group of migrants initially refused to deplane upon arrival, but were eventually escorted back onto the plane.
Written for “US Deports to Liberia” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score -0.40 for article 1488 (low confidence, 0 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-21
Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States in the next 12 months, the government said this week.
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government → agree → months
It said that the first group of 20 were expected to arrive on Thursday.
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group → say → Thursday
Donald Trump's administration has recently struck several deals with African countries to take in people it cannot legally send back to their home countries — typically because of US court orders ruling that doing so would put them in danger.
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doing → strike → danger
What did Liberia say about the agreement?
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Liberia → say → agreement
"Liberia intends to accept up to 1,200 persons to be transferred from the United States of America within a year," the Liberian government said in a statement published on Tuesday.
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government → intend → Tuesday
It said that the people would be received "as guests" and that they would be "free to depart the country when they so desire" or to apply for asylum.
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they → say → asylum
The government's statement said the deportees "will include citizens or nationals of African and Western Hemisphere countries who are medically authorized to travel."
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who → say → countries
It said that the deal did not involve a quid pro quo with the US and that it was not demanding and had not received any direct compensation.
However, it also said that it would receive "support to help manage the program and strengthen its migration system more broadly," without elaborating.
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it → say → system
The statement also referenced Liberia's 19th century history as a refuge for freed slaves from the US, and its "long history of accepting people seeking refuge from political and other crises."
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statement → reference → crises
Why is the US looking for support of this kind from African countries?
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US → look → countries
The announcement follows around a year after Liberian President Joseph Boakai visited the White House among a group of African leaders and held talks with Trump.
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Boakai → follow → Trump
Seeking a way to deport would-be migrants that it cannot send back to their countries of origin — very often because of US courts ruling that doing so would put them at risk of torture or other abuses — the Trump administration has been seeking agreements with third countries willing to take some of the people.
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administration → seek → people
The US government has defended such agreements as lawful, although some rights groups and advocates have said the details are often opaque and that many of the deportees are ultimately repatriated.
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many → defend → deportees
Beyond Monrovia's description, no information was immediately available on where exactly the deportees hailed from.
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deportees → hail → where
Other African countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Equatorian Guinea, Cameroon, Ghana and Sierra Leone have reached similar accords with the US.
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countries → include → US
The EU is currently looking into somewhat comparable plans that would allow member states to send rejected asylum seekers to so-called "return hubs" in third countries as part of bilateral or multilateral agreements, provided various conditions were met.
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conditions → look → agreements
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
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you → edit → news
