–As U.S. Agreed to Pay Liberia $5 Million in Connection with Deportees, Documents Say
IPNEWS: Contrary to statement by Liberia’s Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah, that the Government of Liberia agreed to 1,200 asylum seekers and migrants over the next year who are being removed or transferred by U.S. immigration authorities, under a humanitarian initiative, citing the country’s historic tradition of providing refuge and hospitality to those fleeing conflict or political instability.
Now, the Independent Probe Newspaper, can confirmed that the Trump administration has approved a $5 million payment to Liberia in connection with a deal to send migrants there from the United States, according to internal documents reviewed by The New York Times.
The State Department documents show why the United States directed a grant to Liberia, which announced this week that it was accepting up to 1,200 deportees over the next year, one of the largest known deals the Trump administration has made to send people to countries where they have no ties. The first group arrived in the Liberian capital area of Monrovia on Thursday.
The Trump administration, aiming to ramp up deportations, has been striking deals with other nations willing to take migrants who cannot legally be deported to their home countries for various reasons, including because they could face persecution.
Many of those so-called third-country deportation deals have been shrouded in secrecy and have come under intense scrutiny by human rights groups, which have criticized the administration for sending migrants to unfamiliar countries, including those with records of human rights abuses.
The $5 million payment to Liberia was approved by the State Department in December, and was made in response to a commitment from that country two months earlier that it would consider accepting migrants from other nations, the documents show.
Liberia assured the United States that the deportees would not be subject to persecution based on factors like race or religion. The documents say that the State Department found Liberia’s assurances to be credible, and that the agency approved the payment, which it said could be used for efforts to support Liberia’s immigration system and vulnerable migrants. That could include measures to provide shelter, food and job training, the documents said.
Information Minister, Jerolinmek Piah, explicitly clarified that the arrangement to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees is not a “quid pro quo” and that Liberia is not demanding direct compensation
This arrangement marks a deep expansion of U.S. third-country deportation policies across the African continent.
The U.S. has increasingly utilized “Asylum Cooperative Agreements” to process migrants whose home nations refuse to accept them or who cannot be returned due to legal protections. Similar agreements have already been established with regional neighbors like Ghana and Sierra Leone.
The cooperation follows high-level diplomatic friction, including a highly publicized U.S. legal battle to deport Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia on humanitarian grounds, alongside parallel negotiations that extended U.S. visa validity for Liberian citizens from 12 to 36 months.
While supporters view the policy as a practical way to manage complex international migration, human rights advocates have raised sharp criticisms. Critics argue the policy effectively “outsources” immigration enforcement from wealthy countries onto poorer nations.
Early 2026, the United States canceled plans to deport Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia following a federal court blocked to the deportation through legal injunctions.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied the Trump administration’s motion to dissolve these injunctions. The courts ruled that deporting Abrego Garcia to a third-party country where he has no connections requires full due process, meaning he must first appear before an immigration judge to argue his case.
In 2019, an immigration judge prohibited Abrego Garcia’s removal to El Salvador. The judge recognized a “well-founded fear” of targeted gang violence against his family. He was permitted to live and work under supervision in Maryland.
Despite his protected status, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mistakenly deported him to El Salvador. He was held in a Salvadoran prison notorious for human rights abuses. Following intense public pressure and a legal battle, the U.S. government admitted the error and returned him to America.
Blocked from returning him to El Salvador, the administration attempted to deport him to alternative third-party countries, listing Uganda, Ghana, Eswatini, and ultimately Liberia as targets.
Abrego Garcia and his legal team agreed to voluntary deportation to Costa Rica, which formally offered to accept him. However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rejected this option and continued to aggressively pursue deportation to Liberia.
Ghana and eight other African countries have rejected U.S. Government request to allow third-country deportees.
The Trump administration’s third-country removal policy allows the U.S. to deport non-citizens to a third nation when U.S. courts block direct deportation to their home countries due to safety or legal protections.
The reality of how African nations have responded involves a mix of compliance, selective rejections, and outright refusals
Burkina Faso, completely rejected the U.S. proposal, with leadership calling the offer “indecent” and a violation of national dignity.
The Nigerian government, firmly resisted participating in the program, resulting in diplomatic friction with Washington.
While Ghana signed an agreement, it sparked a major diplomatic row by rejecting a high-profile Salvadoran migrant (Kilmar Abrego Garcia) whom the U.S. attempted to send to West Africa. Ghana’s government maintains it will only accept West African nationals.
Despite public backlash and security warnings, at least 10 African nations have accepted millions of dollars in U.S. funding to take in deportees
Liberia: Agreed to the largest deal yet, consenting to take up to 1,200 third-country deportees from Africa, the Americas, and the Caribbean.
Ghana: Has accepted at least 60 West African deportees (mostly Nigerians and Gambians) since late 2025, using the regional ECOWAS free movement protocol as justification.
Eswatini (received $5.1 million), Rwanda (agreed to host up to 250 people), South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Central African Republic.
Legal and Human Rights Backlash
Human rights lawyers sued the Ghanaian government at the ECOWAS Court of Justice on behalf of 27 deportees. The lawsuit accuses Ghana of violating international law by acting as a U.S. proxy to bypass asylum rules.
Critics and investigators discovered that once migrants arrived in Ghana, authorities quietly forced them across the border into neighboring Togo or back to their original home countries where they faced persecution.
African citizens and opposition lawmakers have slammed their governments for converting sovereign territory into “dumping grounds” for foreign criminals and asylum seekers to secure U.S. financial and security favors.
While several African nations have rejected the U.S. third-country deportation program, Ghana and at least nine other African countries actually signed agreements to accept these deportees, though Ghana has selectively refused specific high-profile individuals.
