NYT: US Approved $5M Payment to Liberia to Accept Deportees

The first flight, carrying 20 migrants, mainly from Venezuela and Cuba, arrived in Monrovia on Thursday. According to documents reviewed by the newspaper, the US State Department approved the payment in December after Liberia indicated it would consider accepting deportees from other countries.

The documents reportedly showed that Washington accepted assurances that deportees would not face racial or religious discrimination in Liberia.

The State Department said the funds could support Liberia’s immigration system and vulnerable migrants, while acknowledging the risk of misuse.

US public spending data shows that Washington paid Liberia $5 million in January for unspecified “migration management activities,” the NYT reported. A State Department representative declined to comment on the authenticity of leaked documents.

The report contradicts Liberian government claims that its agreement with Washington was “entirely humanitarian” and involved no compensation or quid pro quo. Monrovia nevertheless acknowledged that it would receive support to manage the program and strengthen its migration system.

Since Trump began his second term, Washington has reached agreements with at least 35 countries to accept third-country deportees, according to Human Rights First.

Senate Democrats estimated in February that at least $40 million in taxpayer funds had been spent on such arrangements, including payments to Rwanda and Equatorial Guinea.

Immigration lawyers have criticized the policy as a legal loophole allowing Washington to deport migrants to countries unrelated to their cases when their home countries refuse to accept them directly.

They argue the practice is excessively punitive, leaving deportees in unfamiliar countries where they may face language barriers, insecurity, and limited options.