U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported a 35-year-old Venezuelan man from Texas to Liberia, a country in West Africa. Carlos Tellez Sanchez, who had lived in the United States since 2021, said he was informed of his destination only hours before a 15-hour flight across the Atlantic. Tellez Sanchez is currently located in a hotel more than an hour away from the Liberian capital of Monrovia, separated from his wife and 5-month-old son who remain in the United States.
Tellez Sanchez arrived in the U.S. five years ago after fleeing Venezuela. In 2021, an immigration judge granted him protection from being returned to Venezuela based on findings that he could face persecution there. However, this legal order did not prohibit federal authorities from removing him to a third country. In December 2025, ICE detained Tellez Sanchez during a scheduled immigration appointment, and he remained in detention centers for eight months prior to his removal from the country.
During his time in Texas, Tellez Sanchez worked at a Dallas car dealership and as an Uber Eats driver. No criminal charges or convictions were found for him beyond civil immigration violations. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to inquiries regarding why Liberia was selected as the destination. Tellez Sanchez reported being placed in a hotel alongside other deportees from Brazil, Colombia, and Honduras.
The concrete day-to-day change for affected individuals is a transition from U.S. employment and residency to being stranded in foreign nations where they may have no prior ties, language skills, or support systems. Tellez Sanchez, for example, stated he had never heard of Liberia before his deportation. This policy sets a precedent where legal protection from one's home country does not guarantee the right to remain in the U.S., as federal agencies utilize third-party nations as destinations for removal. This creates a new legal landscape for thousands of migrants who previously believed protection orders ensured their safety from deportation.
What happens next depends on the continued implementation of these third-country agreements and potential legal challenges regarding their use. The Department of Homeland Security has not provided a timeline for how long deportees will remain in these third-country locations or what long-term status they hold there. Tellez Sanchez remains in Liberia without a clear plan for his future or a date for any potential return to his family in Texas. No upcoming court dates or policy expiration deadlines were reported.