{

Liberia received its first group of 20 third-country deportees from the United States at Roberts International Airport near Monrovia under a new agreement allowing up to 1,200 foreign nationals to be transferred within a year. Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah announced that the agreement covers deportees from African nations, North America, South America, and the Caribbean, who will be provided support to seek protection or leave the country. "Liberia’s gesture is entirely humanitarian and in keeping with the country’s longstanding traditions," said Jerolinmek Piah, Liberian Information Minister.

Piah added that accommodation, food, and onward travel costs would be fully funded by the US government and an international partner organization to ensure Liberia bears no financial burden.

"The government of Liberia intends to provide the transferred persons with the necessary support to seek protection in Liberia and to be safe during their stay here," said Jerolinmek Piah, Liberian Information Minister. Liberian Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh confirmed that authorities screened the passenger manifest prior to arrival to verify the background of each individual being transferred.

"Most of them are people who had immigration violations and offenses," said Natu Oswald Tweh, Liberian Justice Minister. However, the arrival generated concern among local lawmakers and legal experts regarding state infrastructure and legislative oversight.

"This country is going through a lot, and having more people come in — can we handle all of this?" said Pheta Morris, descendant of 19th-century Black American settlers in Liberia. Morris noted the striking historical parallels between current arrivals and the founding of the nation by free Black Americans nearly two centuries ago. "I think about the Americo-Liberians — people who were rejected where they were and needed somewhere to go, and Liberia opened its arms to them," said Pheta Morris, descendant of Black American settlers.

She contrasted the historical sanctuary granted to former slaves with the modern deportation mechanism organized by Washington.

"Back then, people needed somewhere they could be free, accepted and welcomed. Now, people are being rejected from the US, and Liberia is opening its doors to them," said Pheta Morris, descendant of Black American settlers. Former Liberian lawmaker Conmany Wesseh expressed skepticism about the country's capacity to absorb hundreds of foreign deportees given existing domestic economic pressures, including a 40 percent youth unemployment rate. "Our country needs a great deal of support," said Conmany Wesseh, former Liberian lawmaker.

Wesseh highlighted critical deficiencies in healthcare and housing that would affect both citizens and incoming deportees.

"They will have to go to the same hospitals. You won’t create a new hospital for them," said Conmany Wesseh, former Liberian lawmaker. He emphasized that the lack of municipal infrastructure poses severe operational challenges for long-term integration.

"There’s no spare housing. We don’t have existing housing to put new people in," said Conmany Wesseh, former Liberian lawmaker. Wesseh characterized the bilateral arrangement as an effort by foreign authorities to transfer immigration enforcement duties to developing states.

"I think (the administration of US President Donald Trump) just sees this as a place to dump people," said Conmany Wesseh, former Liberian lawmaker. He criticized the diplomatic arrangement as a strategy to relieve external enforcement pressure. "They want to take them off their hands and dump them in this country," said Conmany Wesseh, former Liberian lawmaker.

Monrovia-based lawyer Samwar Fallah raised concerns over the legal ambiguity surrounding the transferees, noting that families in the US have struggled to obtain updates on their location.

"You cannot relocate a citizen from one country to another without clear information as to why that person has been relocated," said Samwar Fallah, Monrovia-based attorney. Fallah emphasized the confusion faced by non-Liberian nationals abruptly flown across the Atlantic. "Imagine you coming from maybe El Salvador and then you find out you are on a plane to Liberia," said Samwar Fallah, Monrovia-based attorney.

Legislative leaders also voiced opposition to the executive decision, claiming the deal violated constitutional protocols requiring legislative consent for foreign treaties.

"Was this arrangement brought before both Houses of the Legislature and approved by the required majority?" said Samuel Kogar, Nimba County Senator. Senator Kogar questioned the baseline legal authority used by the administration to finalize the bilateral agreement without parliamentary concurrence.

"If not, then under what legal authority was this agreement made?" said Samuel Kogar, Nimba County Senator. Representative Anthony F Williams reiterated that arrangements involving national sovereignty and border control require thorough legislative review.

"No agreement that borders on the national security of this country, the sovereignty of the country, can just be entered into by the executive branch alone," said Anthony F Williams, Liberian Representative. Meanwhile, six deportees aboard the flight who refused to disembark in Monrovia were rerouted to Equatorial Guinea, where human rights advocates reported chaotic conditions upon arrival in Malabo. "It was a really heartbreaking and chaotic scene when they arrived in Malabo on Thursday," said Meredyth Yoon, litigation director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta.

The six migrants were subsequently transferred to a facility housing around 40 other deported individuals, as the Liberian legislature prepares to resume sessions to review the executive arrangement.