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