Liberia agrees to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from US

Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country ​deportees from the U.S. in the coming ‌year, and an initial group of 20 deportees is expected to arrive in the West African ​nation on Thursday, a government statement said ​on Tuesday.
It is the latest such deal ⁠struck by the Trump administration with an ​African government to deport people it can't ​legally send home.The deportees have in most cases obtained legal protection against repatriation after U.S. immigration judges ruled ​they risked torture or other abuses.
Washington has ​defended the deals as lawful, though rights groups and ‌advocates ⁠have said the details of the deals are opaque and many of the deportees are ultimately repatriated.
Deportees to Liberia "will include citizens or ​nationals of ​African and ⁠Western Hemisphere countries who are medically authorized to travel," the Liberian ​government statement said.
It also said some ​of ⁠them "may wish to seek asylum in Liberia."
Other African countries to accept third-country deportees include Democratic Republic of ⁠the ​Congo, Central African Republic, ​Ghana and Sierra Leone.