Monrovia, Liberia — None of the deported men and women housed in a three-story hotel in a remote coastal area of this West African country are Liberian citizens. Many are not even from Africa. Instead, they come from countries throughout Latin America, including Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Venezuela, as well as other African countries, such as Cameroon and Eritrea. They were deported to Liberia, Africa’s oldest republic, last month by U.S. immigration officials as part of a stepped-up tactic in President Trump’s aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration: sending some deportees to remote places where they have no ties. CBS News located the deportees in Liberia, becoming the first American television network to speak with them in person. They described being in limbo and feeling stateless, unable to return to the United States, where many have spouses and children, and fearful of persecution if they return to their home countries. Deported Honduran Elvis Rodríguez Venturas speaks with Camilo Montoya-Gálvez of CBS News. CBS News “I’m worried,” Honduran Elvis Rodríguez Venturas told CBS News. “I feel far away, on the other side of the world.” Rodríguez Venturas said his four children, two of whom are U.S. citizens, ask him every day when he will return to Texas, where he worked in construction. His wife is also in the United States. Rodríguez Venturas entered the United States illegally, but an immigration judge prohibited his deportation to Honduras because he determined that he could suffer harm there. He said he had been using that protection to work legally in the United States before his arrest. In fact, most deportees who agreed to be interviewed obtained legal protections in US immigration courts, preventing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement from deporting them to their home countries for fear that they might be persecuted or tortured there. But under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance stance toward illegal immigration, those with such cases are being subject to deportation to third countries as they still lack valid permanent immigration status, despite their limited legal protections. The six deported Latin American men who agreed to speak with CBS News. CBS News The deportees said ICE did not notify them that they would be deported to Liberia, nor did they give them the opportunity to challenge their deportation to West Africa. “Honestly, I had never heard of Liberia,” Colombian immigrant Arín García Yepes told CBS News. “I didn’t even know it existed,” said Rodríguez Venturas, the deported Honduran. Brazilian immigrant Paola Ferreira Dos Santos, the only woman among the Latin American deportees in Liberia, said she only learned where she had been deported when the deportation flight landed in Monrovia on August 20. “I was the first one off the plane and they told me, ‘Welcome to Liberia. You’re in Africa,'” the 21-year-old told CBS News in Portuguese. CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Gálvez in the main market of Monrovia, Liberia. CBS News While Trump administration officials often say their deportation campaign focuses primarily on hardened criminals they call “the worst of the worst,” CBS News obtained the names of those sent to Liberia last month and could not find criminal charges or convictions for the vast majority, beyond immigration violations such as entering the United States illegally. In a statement to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security said those who are in the U.S. illegally could choose to self-deport and receive a $3,000 stipend the administration has been offering. “The Trump administration is using every legal option to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised,” the department added. communications with other governments.” “Could be in danger”Liberia is a relatively small country bordering the North Atlantic, about the size of Tennessee and home to more than 5 million people. It was founded in the 19th century by freed American slaves. Its capital, Monrovia, is named after U.S. President James Monroe. In August, the Liberian government revealed that it had agreed to receive up to 1,200 deportees from “third countries” from the United States, calling it a humanitarian gesture. Until Now, it has only received one group of deportees under the agreement, the August 20 flight that brought 15 non-Liberians to Liberia. The West African country joined more than 30 nations around the world that have now agreed to such deportations to “third countries” under pressure from the Trump administration. Many of the agreements have been negotiated with African countries, including those beset by armed conflict, political crises and widespread poverty, such as the Central African Republic and South Sudan While the Liberian government has said deportees from “third countries” can apply for asylum in Liberia, none of those interviewed by CBS News expressed interest in staying permanently in the West African nation, citing poverty, the different culture there and its lack of work visas. CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Gálvez speaks with Venezuelan deportee Carlos Tellez Sánchez CBS News. Eswatini, Liberia does not detain deportees it receives from the United States. While they have been told not to venture too far outside the hotel for their own safety, the deportees are technically free to leave. The United Nations migration agency, the International Organization for Migration, has been providing the group with basic needs, but many still feel trapped. Some are contemplating returning to their home countries or waiting for another third country to agree to welcome them. Téllez Sánchez, who sold cars and delivered food in the Dallas area before being detained by ICE late last year, said he is stuck in Africa for now. His wife and U.S.-born baby remain in Texas. “Returning to Venezuela is not an option for me,” he said. “I feel like I could be in danger if I return to my home country.” Haitham Moussa, Jane Greely and Sam Brolan contributed reporting.
