Liberia Receives First 20 Third-Country Deportees; Some Refuse To Deplane And Go Missing
On Thursday, August 20, 2026, Liberia took in about 20 third-country deportees from the United States at Roberts International Airport outside Monrovia, and U.S. officials say some refused to deplane and are unaccounted for.[1]
Video from CBS said none of the people on the flight were Liberian nationals.[2] Liberia's Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah said the country agreed to take up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the U.S. over one year, with this first batch of 20 arriving under the deal.[3] Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said the government screened the U.S. list and that most deportees had migration-related violations; he added they could apply for asylum in Liberia.[4]
On Tuesday, August 18, 2026, Piah announced Liberia would accept up to 1,200 people from Africa, North America, South America and the Caribbean under the U.S. agreement.[3] Advocates and reporting place the Liberia flight within a broader U.S. practice of often-secret third-country deportation deals that have sent thousands of migrants to nearly two dozen non-native countries, about 10 of them in Africa.[3] Immigration lawyers say the mechanism can act as a legal loophole to push asylum-seekers back toward their home countries after arrival in a third state.[4]
Initial coverage framed the move as a logistical agreement and Liberia's voluntary acceptance, focusing on screening and U.S. support to manage arrivals.[3] Later reporting from CBS documented that some deportees resisted, and that a small group were escorted off and then returned to the plane, leaving their whereabouts unclear.[1]
A separate attempt to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia remains blocked by a federal judge in Maryland.[1]
Show source details & analysis (6 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- On Tuesday, August 18, 2026, Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah said Liberia will accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the U.S. within one year, with the first batch of 20 scheduled to arrive Thursday, August 20, 2026 (Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah).
- Piah said the 1,200 people will include Africans and nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean — not only Liberian citizens (the 1,200 people).
- Liberia’s Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said the government screened the list, that most deportees have U.S. immigration violations or offenses, and that they may apply for asylum in Liberia after arrival (Natu Oswald Tweh).
- The U.S. sent the first group of roughly 20 third‑country deportees to Liberia on Thursday, August 20, 2026, arriving at Roberts International Airport outside Monrovia on an Eastern Airline charter (Roberts International Airport).
- U.S. officials told reporters that some of the deportees refused to deplane after landing, were escorted off the plane and then returned to it, and their current whereabouts are unknown (some of the deportees).
- Video reporting notes that none of the individuals on this first flight were Liberian nationals (this first flight).
- Officials and advocates framed the Liberia flight as part of a broader Trump administration pattern of often‑secret third‑country deportation agreements that have sent thousands of migrants to nearly two dozen non‑native countries, including about 10 in Africa (the Trump administration).
- Immigration lawyers say using third‑country deportations can function as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum‑seekers back to their home countries after arrival in the third state (Immigration lawyers).
- A separate deportation attempt under the same framework — to remove Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia — remains blocked by a federal judge in Maryland (Kilmar Abrego Garcia).
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- CBS video segment confirms that the plane carrying roughly 20 third-country deportees from the U.S. landed in Liberia on Thursday, August 20, 2026.
- U.S. officials told CBS News that some of the deportees on the first Liberia flight refused to deboard upon landing.
- The segment reiterates that the Trump administration has brokered deportation deals with at least 35 countries to send migrants to 'third countries' where they have no ties.
- CBS’s August 21, 2026 video segment reports that the U.S. deported around 20 migrants to Liberia even though none of the individuals on this first flight are Liberian nationals.
- The segment reiterates that this was the first group of "third-country" deportees sent from the U.S. to Liberia under the new arrangement, as of August 21, 2026.
- On Thursday, August 20, 2026, roughly 20 third-country deportees from various Latin American and other countries arrived in Liberia on a U.S. deportation flight.
- A U.S. official told CBS News that after landing, a small group of deportees resisted and refused to deplane, were escorted off the plane, then returned to it; their current whereabouts are unknown.
- The article specifies the charter as an Eastern Airline flight that taxied at Roberts International Airport outside Monrovia on August 20, 2026.
- The piece situates Liberia within a broader network of U.S. third-country deportation agreements with nations including South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.
- It reiterates that the Trump administration is attempting to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia under this framework, but notes that effort remains blocked by a federal judge in Maryland.
- On Thursday, August 20, 2026, the United States sent the first group of 20 deportees to Liberia under the new agreement, arriving at Roberts International Airport outside Monrovia.
- Liberian officials confirmed that the 1,200 deportees covered by the deal will include nationals from Africa, North America, South America and the Caribbean, not only Africans.
- Liberian Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, that most deportees had committed migration-related violations and offenses and that they may apply for asylum in Liberia if they choose.
- The article reiterates that advocates say the Trump administration has already deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen non-native countries under similar third-country agreements, about 10 of them in Africa, framing the Liberia flight as part of this broader practice.
- Immigration lawyers quoted in the report argue that using third-country deportations functions as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum-seekers back to their home countries after arrival in the third state.
- On Tuesday, August 18, 2026, Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah said Liberia will accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the U.S. within one year, with the first batch of 20 to arrive Thursday, August 20.
- Piah stated the 1,200 people will include Africans and nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean, not just Liberian citizens.
- Liberia's Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said the government has screened the list and that most deportees are people with U.S. immigration violations and offenses.
- Piah said deportees may seek asylum in Liberia after arrival or leave the country whenever they choose and that Liberia will receive U.S. support to manage the program and bolster its migration system.
- The article situates the Liberia deal within a broader Trump administration pattern of often-secret agreements sending thousands of migrants to nearly two dozen non-native countries, including about 10 in Africa, sometimes despite protection orders from U.S. immigration judges.