First 20 migrants deported from US arrives in Liberia under new 'entirely humanitarian' deal

Twenty migrants deported from the United States have arrived in Liberia, the first of up to 1,200 foreign nationals the west African country has agreed to accept.

Liberia is the latest African country to agree to take in migrants deported under US President Donald Trump's contested immigration crackdown.

A plane bringing the 20 people touched down at the country's international airport shortly before 1:00 pm local time on Thursday.

They boarded a bus, which then left the airport near the capital, Monrovia.

Staff from the Liberian Commission on Repatriation, Resettlement and Reintegration were seen taking care of the new arrivals.

Reporters were kept at a distance and could not talk to them.

Liberia announced on Tuesday it would accept up to 1,200 foreign nationals deported from the US within a year.

It said they were "free to depart the country when they so desire" or apply for asylum.

The government said it "has not demanded or received any compensation or promise of rewards in exchange for its consent to participate in the programme."

"Liberia will receive support to help manage this programme and strengthen its migration system more generally" as part of this partnership, the government said, which it describes as "entirely humanitarian."

In his second term, Trump has expanded who is eligible for deportation, targeting those with legal protections that under previous administrations allowed them to live and work in the US for fear of persecution in their home countries.

Washington has argued that legally it is only barred from sending such people directly to their home countries.

Other African countries that have reached agreements with Washington to accept deported third-party nationals include Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Rwanda, South Sudan, Cameroon, Eswatini and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.