'i Do Not Know What Happened To The Others': Trump's Third Country Deportations Spark Global Debate

Shortly before 1 p.m. last Thursday, a plane from the American airline Eastern Airlines appeared over the airport of Liberia’s capital Monrovia and began its landing approach. Journalists at the airport fence had been waiting for this moment for hours.

But the view of the tarmac remained blocked. “No photos! Stay where you are!” security forces shouted. Nevertheless, reporters pushed their lenses through openings in the wire fence, while others climbed onto a barrier.

On board were 20 people who had been deported from the United States — but not to their home countries, rather to Liberia. Their arrival on Aug. 20 took place as part of a new agreement under which the government of President Joseph Boakai intends to accept up to 1,200 third-country nationals from the United States within one year.

It is the largest agreement of this kind with an African country since U.S. President Donald Trump tightened his migration policy.

In Europe, deportations to third countries that are not the migrants’ countries of origin have long been controversial. Italy has been deporting migrants to Albania for some time now. In June, the EU established the legal framework allowing member states to deport migrants to third countries — even if the individuals have no connection whatsoever to the destination country.

The Liberian government had announced the flight only two days earlier. One after another, the occupants descended the stairs and were taken to buses waiting near the plane. Officials from the Liberian police and immigration authority, as well as staff from the state Liberian Refugee Commission, were deployed at the airport.

They faced a problem. Apparently, not all passengers wanted to enter Liberia. Government sources told WELT — which, like POLITICO, is part of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network — that five migrants had refused to leave the aircraft. They were then flown on to Equatorial Guinea.

On Tuesday, Information Minister Jerolinmek Matthew Piah confirmed that Liberia had received only 15 deportees. The U.S. Embassy would have to answer to why five had apparently remained on the plane. “They decided not to come to Liberia. I cannot say more about it,” Piah said. He could not even confirm the onward flight: “I do not know what happened to the others.”

The events on the tarmac lasted a little more than 30 minutes. And many in Monrovia are now wondering who these people are. The government has so far kept their identities secret.

According to Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh, most of them are people alleged to have violated American immigration law. All names had been checked by the Liberian authorities before the transfer.

Cases involving migrants who were judicially protected in the United States from being returned to their home country — for example, because they faced persecution or torture there — are particularly controversial. Washington may not simply take these people to their countries of origin. So they are flown to third countries with which they often have no connection.

According to human rights organizations, since early 2025, the U.S. has deported more than 23,000 people to 26 third countries, the majority to Mexico. More than 330 people have reportedly been deported to African countries so far. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, this group included migrants who had been convicted in the U.S. of serious violent or sexual offenses.

However, many of them had already served their sentences. Others had merely violated immigration regulations or had unsuccessfully applied for asylum. Exact figures remain confidential.

In Liberia, the agreement with Washington sparked heated debates. Representatives of civil society and many Liberians are asking why a country suffering from high unemployment, weak public services and security problems should take in hundreds of people with no apparent connection to Liberia.

The government describes the program as a humanitarian act. It is based on a diplomatic exchange between Liberia and the United States that took place on Sept. 4 and 10, 2025.

About two months earlier, Boakai met with Trump at the White House. Trump caused a stir because he praised Bokai for his good English — even though it is the official language of his country. Trump apparently failed to notice that Liberia was founded in the 19th century by formerly enslaved African Americans from the United States. Its capital, Monrovia, is named after former U.S. President James Monroe.

Nationals from African countries, as well as from North and South America and the Caribbean, may be brought to Liberia, provided they are fit to travel, the Information Ministry said. Some could apply for asylum. They would be treated as “guests” in Liberia and could leave the country again if they wished.

The ministry denies that Liberia is being paid for taking them in. “The transfer of persons to Liberia is not a transaction based on the principle of quid pro quo,” it said. “Liberia has neither requested nor received compensation or the promise of a reward in exchange for its consent to participate in the program.”

This is contradicted by information from the United States, according to which Liberia is receiving $5 million to strengthen Liberian migration management. Following approval by the U.S. State Department, the money was paid out in January 2026.

Liberia’s government denies that this constitutes payment for taking in the deportees. Information Minister Piah said that accommodating them would not cost Liberia “a single cent.”

For Dayugar Johnson, chair of the NGO Coalition of Liberia, the agreement is an example of the unequal relationship between powerful Western states and African countries. “A third country is supposed to take on the problems and complicated consequences of American immigration policy,” Johnson said.

Liberia’s historically close relationship with Washington makes it difficult for the country to resist the pressure. “Liberia may not have the political strength to resist America,” Johnson said. He demanded that possible financial or diplomatic benefits be disclosed. “There is more behind this deal than mere charity.”

Events in other countries in the region reinforce the mistrust. Neighbouring Sierra Leone took in nine deportees in May. They were supposed to travel on to other countries within 14 days — according to the wishes of the U.S., preferably to their home countries, to which Washington may not deport them directly because of judicial protection orders.

This happened to a Colombian man who had lived with his family in Florida for eight years and was reported on by WELT. Although he was protected from returning to Colombia, he was taken to Kinshasa. There, he was initially stranded in a hotel that he was allowed to leave only accompanied by government employees. Later, he agreed to a “voluntary” return to Colombia.

In Eswatini, 28 men deported from the United States are being held in a maximum-security prison — without having been charged or convicted in the Southern African kingdom. Some of them have been there for more than a year.

The United States paid Eswatini $5.1 million. Rwanda reportedly received $7.5 million, Sierra Leone $1.5 million. According to research to date, at least $44 million in total has flowed directly to third countries. The costs of deportation flights are added to this. In addition to money, Washington has theoretically other means of pressure: visas, tariffs, aid funds, investment promises and security cooperation. Countries that are economically dependent find it difficult to reject such offers.

In Liberia, many are outraged by how the country can take in up to 1,200 foreigners while many young Liberians have hardly any economic prospects. Among them is 31-year-old Robmanuel Vah, who is unemployed despite having completed school. “There are already no employment programs for young people or adults,” he said. “Before bringing such people into the country, corresponding programs must be in place.”

But cooperation with Washington also elicits approval. Onekia Dwalu, a teacher, believes Liberia could benefit from it. However, the conditions would have to be known. “A crucial question for me is: What does Liberia get out of non-Liberian deportees being brought into our country?” Dwalu said. “I believe Liberia should benefit from it. But this benefit must be made transparent.”

Lawrence Yealue, chair of the National Civil Society Council of Liberia, also demanded more information. “Governance means disclosing everything to the people,” he said in an interview. Fundamental questions remain unanswered: “Who are these people? What identity do they have? What did they do in the past in the United States?”

At the same time, Yealue warned against treating all newcomers as criminals. Migrants and people seeking international protection possess rights that Liberia must respect under the Geneva Refugee Convention. Whether Liberia has the necessary capacity to take in such a large number of deportees worried him more.

Legal concerns are also being raised in parliament. Nimba County Sen. Samuel Kogar cited Article 57 of the Liberian Constitution. According to it, the president may conclude treaties or such agreements only with the approval of the majority in both chambers of parliament.

In Eswatini, too, the agreement was concluded without public debate and apparently without parliamentary approval. Even the finance minister initially did not know what the $5.1 million from Washington were intended for.

No Liberian journalist was able to speak with the people who stepped off the Eastern Airlines plane on Aug. 20. The government is keeping their names and whereabouts secret. They have disappeared. Entirely in Trump’s spirit.

Christian Putsch is a reporter for WELT, a publication owned by Axel Springer, POLITICO’s parent company. Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh is a reporter for Axel Springer Global Reporters Network.

The Axel Springer Global Reporters Network harnesses the resources of the company’s newsrooms to publish ambitious scoops, investigations, interviews, opinion pieces and analysis. It allows journalists — including those from POLITICO, Business Insider, WELT, BILD, The Telegraph, Onet and Fakt — to collaborate on major stories for an international audience of hundreds of millions across platforms: online, print, TV and audio.