Liberia Got $5 Million to Take In 1,200 Deportees From U.S.

The United States paid Liberia $5 million (about 7 billion won) to take in up to 1,200 migrants deported from the U.S., a fact that has come to light belatedly. It contradicts Liberia’s earlier statement that it “received no compensation.” As the U.S. expands its policy of sending migrants to third countries with which they have no ties, controversy is growing over the funds exchanged during the negotiations and the opaque nature of the agreement.

Liberia Said There Was “No Compensation” — U.S. Documents Show $5 Million Payment

According to The New York Times on the 21st, U.S. State Department documents show that the U.S. government approved a $5 million payment to Liberia.

Liberia agreed to accept up to 1,200 migrants deported from the U.S. over the coming year. According to the Times, the State Department approved the $5 million payment last December, and public spending records show the actual disbursement was made in January this year under the label of “migration management activities.”

This differs from the account Liberia’s government gave when it disclosed the agreement on the 18th. At the time, the Liberian government said it had neither requested nor received “any compensation or promise of compensation” from the U.S. in return for accepting the migrants. It said, however, that it would receive support to run the program and to strengthen its own immigration system.

The State Department documents also detailed how the funds could be used. The money can be used to support Liberia’s immigration system and to provide migrants with shelter, food and job training. The funds came from the State Department’s Migration and Refugee Assistance account, which is used for refugee protection and assistance around the world.

Liberia had earlier signaled to the U.S. in October last year that it would consider a plan to accept migrants from other countries. It later guaranteed that deportees would not be persecuted on grounds such as race or religion, and the State Department, judging this credible, approved the payment, according to reports.

First 20 Deportees Arrive — Up to 1,200 to Be Accepted

The transfer of migrants under the agreement has already begun. An aircraft carrying the first deportees arrived in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, on the 20th.

Liberia’s government says it is accepting them as “guests” and providing the support they need for a safe stay. It said the migrants may remain in Liberia or move to other countries, and that they may also apply for asylum.

The first transfer, however, was marked by confusion. According to the Times, five of the 20 migrants who arrived in Liberia resisted their release and were sent on to Equatorial Guinea.

The agreement is part of the “third-country deportation” policy pursued by the administration of Donald Trump. Under it, migrants who might face persecution if returned home, or who are difficult to repatriate, are sent to a country other than their country of origin.

According to the human rights group Human Rights First, the second Trump administration has signed related agreements with more than 35 countries, including the Dominican Republic, Eswatini, Cameroon, South Sudan and Equatorial Guinea. The agreement with Liberia, covering up to 1,200 people, is among the larger of these, the Times reported.

Paying to Send Migrants to Third Countries — Rights Groups Say Protections Are Weakened

Liberia is not the only case in which the U.S. provided financial support while negotiating an agreement with a third country. According to the Times, controversy arose last year when it emerged that the State Department had paid Equatorial Guinea $7.5 million to accept deportees.

Rights groups also point to the fact that much of the specific terms of these agreements are not made public. There is particular concern that the list of deportation destinations could include countries with which migrants have no ties, or countries with a history of human rights abuses.

Yael Schacher, director for the Americas and Europe at the nonprofit Refugees International, criticized the third-country deportation agreements the U.S. has been signing one after another, saying they are weakening the humanitarian protection framework for migrants.

The State Department has said it cannot comment on diplomatic communications conducted confidentially with third countries.