Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 people deported from the United States who are not Liberian nationals, under an arrangement that will see the transfers take place over the next 12 months.

The first group of 20 people is expected to arrive in Liberia on Thursday. The deportees may include nationals from Africa, North America, South America and the Caribbean.

The agreement is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to send some migrants to third countries when they cannot be directly returned to their countries of origin.

Liberian authorities said they had reviewed the cases of those expected to arrive before approving the transfers. The government said the people would be received as “guests” and would have the option of seeking asylum in Liberia or leaving the country.

Monrovia has rejected the idea that the arrangement is a direct exchange with Washington. Liberia is expected to receive U.S. assistance to help manage the programme and strengthen its migration system, although details of the support have not been disclosed.

Liberia joins several other African countries that have agreed to receive third-country deportees from the United States, including Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The policy has raised concerns among human rights organisations, particularly over the treatment of people who may face persecution or other serious risks if returned to their countries of origin.

For Liberia, the government has presented the agreement as a humanitarian initiative consistent with the country’s history of welcoming people fleeing crises.

The programme is expected to unfold over the next year, with the first arrivals marking the beginning of Liberia’s participation in Washington’s expanding third-country deportation policy.