Families of 20 people deported from the United States to Liberia are demanding answers about their relatives’ whereabouts, legal status and future, after they were sent to a country where none of them is a citizen.
The group arrived at Roberts International Airport near Monrovia on Thursday, August 20, and was taken away by Liberian officials on a bus. However, authorities have not clearly explained where the migrants were taken, whether they are free to leave, or what legal status they have in Liberia.
Liberian lawyer Samwar Fallah said several families in the United States had contacted him for information about their relatives.
> “You cannot relocate a citizen from one country to another without clear information as to why that person has been relocated,” Fallah said.
The migrants are the first group transferred under an agreement that could see Liberia accept up to 1,200 people deported from the US over the next 12 months.
The Liberian government described those transferred as “guests of the Republic” and said the arrangement was humanitarian. Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah said they were not being detained, were free to leave and could apply for asylum.
However, the government has not released full details about their nationalities, accommodation, immigration documents or the international organisation responsible for supporting their stay.
Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said Liberia reviews the passenger lists and has the authority to reject individuals. He said most of those being transferred had immigration violations or criminal offences.
Reports also said that five people refused to leave the aircraft after arriving in Liberia and were subsequently taken to Equatorial Guinea. Al Jazeera said it had not independently verified that report.
Political and legal concerns
The agreement has sparked criticism among Liberian politicians and civil society groups, who question whether President Joseph Boakai’s government had the authority to approve the arrangement without legislative approval.
Nimba County Senator Samuel Kogar cited Liberia’s Constitution, arguing that agreements involving foreign affairs may require approval from both houses of the legislature.
Representative Anthony F. Williams also questioned whether the executive branch could make an agreement involving national security and national sovereignty without parliamentary approval.
The Liberian legislature is currently on recess until October, meaning lawmakers may not be able to immediately address the issue.
Civil society groups have also called for greater transparency, including information about accommodation, healthcare, screening procedures and the conditions under which the migrants will remain in Liberia.
Concerns over possible US-Liberia negotiations
Questions have also emerged over whether Liberia received diplomatic or financial benefits for accepting deportees from the United States.
Liberian officials deny receiving payment or a diplomatic reward for the arrangement. However, the agreement comes amid several recent US decisions affecting Liberia, including a $124 million five-year health memorandum and an extension of visitor visas for Liberians from 12 to 36 months.
The United States also provided Liberia with $5 million this year for migration management.
Although neither government has publicly confirmed a direct connection between those measures and the deportation agreement, critics are demanding that both countries disclose the details of their negotiations.
University of Liberia Student Union President William Sando said many Liberians only learned about the arrangement through social media before the government confirmed it.
Senator Kogar said the issue was much bigger than migration.
> “This is not a small issue. We are talking about our sovereignty, our laws, our national security, and the responsibility we have to the Liberian people.”
The controversy continues as Liberians demand greater transparency about why their country is receiving deportees from the United States, where they will live, what rights they will have and how long they may remain.
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