The Trump administration approved a $5 million payment to Liberia in connection with a deal to accept up to 1,200 deportees from the United States, according to internal State Department documents reviewed by The New York Times. The first group of 20 migrants arrived in the Liberian capital area of Monrovia on Thursday.

The payment, approved in December, came from the migration and refugee assistance fund and was intended to support Liberia's immigration system and vulnerable migrants. Documents show the State Department found Liberia's assurances that deportees would not face persecution credible, though officials acknowledged risks of fund misuse. The Liberian government had claimed it received no compensation, contradicting the documented payment.

This deal is part of a broader strategy: the administration has reached third-country deportation agreements with more than 35 countries since President Trump's second term began. A similar $7.5 million payment to Equatorial Guinea drew scrutiny last year. Senator Jeanne Shaheen called the payments "highly unusual," while human rights advocates like Yael Schacher of Refugees International and Becca Heller of the International Refugee Assistance Project warned the deals undermine international refugee protections.

After the first flight landed, five of 20 migrants resisted release and were flown to Equatorial Guinea. The Department of Homeland Security stated all 20 were "deported to a safe third country" but did not address the status of those who resisted.