MONROVIA, Liberia — A group of people deported from the United States to Liberia is facing an uncertain future after arriving in the country under an arrangement that has sparked questions over their legal status, human rights and whether Liberia’s legislature should have approved the agreement.
The 20 people arrived at Roberts International Airport near Monrovia on Thursday, the first group under an arrangement allowing the United States to transfer up to 1,200 people to Liberia over the next 12 months.
Many are reportedly nationals of Latin American countries, including Venezuela and Cuba, rather than Liberian citizens.
Families in the United States have contacted Monrovia-based lawyer Samwar Fallah seeking information about their relatives.
Fallah said he could not establish where the group had been taken, whether they were free to leave or what legal status they had in Liberia.
“You cannot relocate a citizen from one country to another without clear information,” Fallah said.
The Liberian government announced the arrangement only two days before the first flight arrived, prompting criticism from politicians who said they had not been consulted.
Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah described the arrivals as “guests of the Republic” and said they were not being detained. He said they were free to leave and could seek asylum.
Piah said Liberia’s decision was humanitarian and reflected its historical ties with the United States, including the country’s origins as a settlement for free and formerly enslaved Black people from America.
The government also said Liberia would not bear the financial burden. The United States and an international partner organisation would cover accommodation, food and eventual onward travel.
However, authorities have not disclosed the full nationalities of those transferred, where they are being housed, the documents under which they entered Liberia or the identity of the organisation managing their stay.
Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said Liberia reviews passenger lists and reserves the right to reject individuals. He said most of those transferred had immigration violations or criminal offences.
The government, however, has not published its screening criteria or clarified whether any arrivals had legal protections in the United States preventing their removal.
Reuters reported that five people refused to leave the aircraft and were subsequently transported to Equatorial Guinea, although the report has not been independently verified.
The arrangement has also triggered a constitutional debate.
Nimba County Senator Samuel Kogar questioned whether the agreement required legislative approval under Article 57 of Liberia’s Constitution, which gives the president authority over foreign affairs but requires legislative concurrence for treaties and similar agreements.
The government says the arrangement is based on diplomatic notes exchanged between Liberia and the United States in September last year.
Representative Anthony F Williams, who serves on House committees dealing with national security, human rights and foreign affairs, said the executive could not enter an agreement affecting national sovereignty without legislative scrutiny.
Concerns have also been raised about Liberia’s capacity to accommodate as many as 1,200 third-country deportees. Civil society groups are calling for independent monitoring of their living conditions, spending and compliance with Liberian law.
The controversy has been heightened by wider US-Liberia relations. The two countries signed a five-year, $124 million health memorandum in December 2025, while Washington extended B1/B2 visitor visas for Liberians from 12 to 36 months. The United States also provided Liberia with $5 million this year for migration management.
Critics are demanding transparency over whether these developments were connected to Liberia’s decision to accept deportees from third countries.
For now, the central questions remain unanswered: what legal status do the arrivals have, who is responsible for their welfare, and under what authority can Liberia receive people who are not its citizens?
As Fallah put it, the issue is “not a small issue” because it involves individual rights, national sovereignty and Liberia’s obligations under international law.
Courtesy of Al Jazeera
Picture: Deportee