House Orders Inquiry Into Reported U.S. Third-Country Deportations to Liberia
The Capitol Building in Monrovia, seat of Liberia's legislature (file photo; illustrative). Photo: David Stanley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Liberia's House of Representatives has asked three joint committees to examine the reported transfer of foreign nationals from the United States and report back within two weeks.
Liberia's House of Representatives has ordered an inquiry into reports that foreign nationals are being deported to the country from the United States, according to the Liberian Observer.
The plenary assigned the joint committees on Foreign Affairs, Judiciary and National Security to look into the matter and to submit a report within two weeks. The move followed a communication to Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon from Bong County District #3 Representative J. Marvin Cole.
Cole asked that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice and State for Presidential Affairs be invited to explain the arrangement. The questions he raised include the legal basis of any Liberia-U.S. agreement, who the transferred people are, what security screening and monitoring exists, and what safeguards protect their rights.
The Observer reports that about 20 deportees have arrived so far and that roughly 1,200 more could follow. Cole alleged that some of those sent may have been linked to drug trafficking, cybercrime or other offences before their removal. The newspaper stresses that these claims have not been independently established.
The Associated Press reported in August that the government announced Liberia would accept up to 1,200 non-Liberian deportees from the U.S. over a year. Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah described the arrangement as humanitarian, and Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said the list had been screened beforehand.
Whether the committees will summon the ministers, and what they will recommend, has not yet been reported.