The United States on Thursday carried out its first deportation under an agreement for Liberia to accept up to 1,200 people not from the African country, in 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.
Among the deportees are African nationals as well as citizens from North America, South America and the Caribbean, according to Liberian Information Minister Jerolynmic Biah. Liberian Justice Minister Nato Oswald Tweh said they could seek asylum in the West African country if they wished.
The US State Department declined to respond to questions about the Liberia agreement, but said that implementing the Trump administration’s immigration policies is a “top priority.” She said she is “unwavering in our commitment to ending illegal and mass immigration and strengthening America’s border security.”
The US Department of Homeland Security declined to confirm Thursday’s deportations for “operational security reasons” and referred additional questions to the State Department.
Agreements concluded with a third country are often shrouded in secrecy. Migrants have been deported to countries they have never visited before or where they face safety risks, leaving them with no choice but to return to the countries of origin they fled.
Get breaking national news
Get Canada breaking news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you never miss a trending story.
The Trump administration has entered into agreements with at least 35 countries to deport people from other countries, including Liberia and 13 other countries in Africa, according to Third Country Deportation Monitoring, a partnership between Refugees International and Human Rights First that relies on public records requests, news reports and other sources. More than 23,000 people were deported to 26 countries under the agreements.
The US State Department had previously announced that Liberia had agreed to accept deportees who were not from Liberia. But the six-page agreement reached in September 2025 and published on its website does not specify how many states or countries it belongs to.
In October 2025, Liberia offered to accept Kelmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador, who was wrongly deported to prison in El Salvador. After being prevented from being sent to his country of origin, the Trump administration pledged to send him to a third province, including Liberia.
Abrego Garcia said he would agree to be extradited to Costa Rica, which said it would accept him. But the government has so far refused to send him there. Abrego Garcia is opposing deportation to Liberia in a federal lawsuit in Maryland.
& Edition 2026 The Canadian Press
