Liberia says it's taking in 1,200 third-country US deportees

Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States in the next 12 months, the government said this week.

It said that the first group of 20 were expected to arrive on Thursday.

Donald Trump 's administration has recently struck several deals with African countries to take in people it cannot legally send back to their home countries — typically because of US court orders ruling that doing so would put them in danger.

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"Liberia intends to accept up to 1,200 persons to be transferred from the United States of America within a year," the Liberian government said in a statement published on Tuesday.

It said that the people would be received "as guests" and that they would be "free to depart the country when they so desire" or to apply for asylum.

The government's statement said the deportees "will include citizens or nationals of ‌African ​and Western Hemisphere countries who are medically authorized to travel."

It said that the deal did not involve a quid pro quo with the US and that it was not demanding and had not received any direct compensation.