First US deportees land in Liberia
President Donald Trump, in his second term, has expanded who is eligible for deportation.
(AFP) — Twenty migrants deported from the United States arrived in Liberia on 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 U.S. President Donald Trump’s contested immigration crackdown.
A plane carrying the 20 people landed at the country’s international airport shortly before 1 p.m. local time (1300 GMT).
They boarded a bus that then left the airport near the capital, Monrovia.
Staff from the Liberian Commission on Repatriation, Resettlement and Reintegration were seen assisting the new arrivals.
Reporters were kept at a distance and could not speak with them.
Liberia announced Tuesday that it would accept up to 1,200 foreign nationals deported from the U.S. 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 program.”
Trump, in his second term, has expanded who is eligible for deportation, targeting people with legal protections that under previous administrations allowed them to live and work in the U.S. because they feared persecution in their home countries.
Washington has argued that it is legally barred only from sending such people directly back to their home countries.
Subscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing
trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world,
while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood,
sports, Big Tech and the arts.
Credit: Source link