MONROVIA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - 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.
(Reporting by Alphonso Toweh; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Chris Reese and Aurora Ellis)
