Liberia is set to accept as many as 1,200 foreign nationals deported from the United States over the next year, as President Donald Trump’s administration intensifies its immigration enforcement campaign.

The Liberian government announced the arrangement on Tuesday, saying an initial group of 20 deportees is expected to arrive in the West African country on Thursday.

According to the government, those transferred to Liberia will be allowed to leave the country whenever they choose or seek asylum if they wish to remain.

The development is part of a broader US policy under the Trump administration that has expanded the use of third countries to receive migrants being deported from the United States, even when those individuals are not citizens of the receiving countries.

The New York Times previously reported that the US administration had considered sending Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who became a prominent figure in the debate over mass deportations, to another country after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

Several African countries have also become involved in the US deportation drive. Ghana and Equatorial Guinea, for instance, have emerged as transit points for deportees before some are subsequently returned to their countries of origin.

Two former US State Department officials said Washington had used measures, including visa restrictions and bans, to encourage African governments to accept deportees from third countries.

Liberia, however, said its decision was not based on any financial reward or special incentive from the United States.

The government stated that it had neither requested nor received compensation or promises of benefits in return for agreeing to participate in the programme.

It said the country would instead receive assistance to administer the arrangement and improve its broader migration management system, describing the initiative as humanitarian in nature.

The US State Department declined to comment on the agreement.

Liberia has a historic connection with the United States. The country was established in the 19th century with the involvement of a US-based organisation that promoted the resettlement of formerly enslaved people and free-born African Americans in Africa.