Pleebo Sodoken District 2 Lawmaker, Representative Anthony F. Williams, has raised concern over the influx of illigal Burkinabes in Southeastern Liberia.
This has prompted the House of Representatives’ Committee on National Security and Defense to launch an investigation, thereby citing the Ministry of Justice, the Liberian Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission, and the Liberia immigration Service, among others.
Following a letter from Representative Anthony F. Williams dated June 18, 2024, the House Committee on Security and National Defense has commenced hearings on the situation uncovered by the Pleebo Sodoken lawmaker, who is also the co-chair of the Committee for Refuge, Repatriation, Reintegration, and Resettlement (LRRRC) and as well member on the House’s committee on National Security and Defense.
Rep. Williams, in a letter to the plenary, stated that a joint assessment mission carried out in June 2024 by the Liberian government, through the House’s Committee on LRRR, the LRRRC Executive Director and team, the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), and UNHCR-Liberia, confirmed the presence of over 60,000 undocumented or non-profiled Burkinabe nationals across various counties, especially in the southeastern counties of Nimba, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Grand Kru, and Maryland.
The Maryland Lawmaker addressed the plenary, communicating the social, economic, political, environmental, and cultural consequences of the Burkinabe Nationals’ presence.
He discussed Social Protection, Human Rights, and Safety Nets for Women and Children in border communities, the Political and Foreign Implications, and the documentation processes of Community and Local governments for ensuring security and stability.
In furtherance, Representative Williams pointed out some threats concerning environmental, Ecological, and Conservation setbacks and challenges for forested communities relative to the activities of the Burkinabe.
In the hearing, Williams asked LIS to work with the LRRRC to create awareness and sensitization, and subsequently commence the immediate registration and profiling of illegal Burkinabe and other illegal nationals within the bailiwick of Liberia.
It has been confirmed through statements from multiple security stakeholders during the hearing that resident communities, particularly in the southeast region, have lodged numerous complaints about the unauthorized entry of Burkinabe into Liberia, which has escalated concerns over national security protection among the citizens in the vicinity.
Representative Williams is not the first lawmaker raising such alarm about illegal migrants, as a similar was raised by the Late Grand Gedeh Senator Marshall Dennis.
The late Grand Gedeh County Senator Marshall Dennis before his death, was alarmed that illegal migrants are gradually taking over bordering towns of the county with Ivory Coast daily.
Late Senator Dennis explained that illegal migrants who are believed to be Burkinabe (citizens from Burkina Faso) were in the neighborhood of over 9,000 inhabitants.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, August 26, 2023 at the Capital Building, the deceased noted that the reported illegal migrants are engaging in cocoa farming and illegal minerals including gold and diamond mining in the area.
The passed-off lawmaker narrated how the presence of the reported illegal migrants is posing serious national security threats to both the county and the country at large.
“These migrants’ presence in our territory is a serious national security. In some of the towns and villages, they are hoisting their national flag instead of our national flag. This is very scary; you don’t see the presence of the government in those towns. The police and other security institutions operating here presence is absent,” he said.
The Grand Gedeh Senator who died before the 2023 Elections noted that the illegal migration within the bordering towns of the county began during the early years of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-led administration but the administration did little in handling the matter.
The late Senator added that over time, there had been a series of confrontations between the ‘illegal migrants’ and some Grand Gedeans.
