Liberia: Lawmakers investigate U.S. deportees, 20 arrived and 1,200 announced

The Liberian House of Representatives ordered a parliamentary inquiry during its session on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, regarding the reception in Liberia of people deported from the United States who are not Liberian, reports the Liberian Observer. The joint committees on Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and National Security are expected to submit their report within two weeks.

The investigation follows a petition from Representative J. Marvin Cole, elected from the third district of Bong County, addressed to House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon. He is requesting the summoning of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs.

Questions raised by Parliament

Lawmakers want to know the nature, scope, and legal basis of any arrangement made between Monrovia and Washington regarding the transfer of foreign nationals, as well as the identity, nationality, and migration history of the individuals concerned and the legal procedures for their removal from U.S. territory. Representative Cole cited reports of 20 arrivals and approximately 1,200 potential transfers. He also claimed that some deportees could be linked to drug trafficking or cybercrime: the newspaper notes that these allegations have not been independently verified.

An agreement never detailed publicly

On August 18, 2026, Minister of Information Jerolinmek Piah stated in Monrovia that Liberia would accept up to 1,200 deportees from countries in Africa, the Americas, and the Caribbean, according to Al Jazeera. He presented them as "guests of the Republic," free to leave the country whenever they wish. A first group of 20 people was expected in the following days.

The largest agreement of its kind in the world

According to Refugees International and Human Rights First, cited by Al Jazeera, the Trump administration has concluded agreements of this type with at least 35 countries and, by early August 2026, had sent approximately 22,000 people to 26 countries of which they were not nationals. The Liberian arrangement is reportedly the largest of them all. An agreement signed in 2025 and made public in March 2026 also provides that asylum seekers deported to Liberia may remain there. In exchange for hosting Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Washington extended the validity of certain Liberian visas from 12 to 36 months and promised $124 million to the country's health system.

Several legal challenges are contesting this agreement in U.S. courts. In Liberia, it is now Parliament that is demanding the text that the executive branch has never published: a matter of sovereignty as much as transparency. The committees' report is expected in early November 2026.