Liberia is launching a migrant profiling and biometric registration exercise targeting about 140,000 foreign nationals, most of them from Burkina Faso. The exercise will be launched on Nov. 4 in Grand Gedeh County, with registration running from Nov. 5 to Dec. 31 at designated centers in Grand Gedeh, Nimba, River Gee and Maryland counties.
The program is coordinated by the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC), the Liberia Immigration Service and the National Identification Registry (NIR), the agency that administers the country’s national biometric identity program. LRRRC Executive Director Jeror Cole Bangalu announced the exercise on Nov. 2, reading a joint statement at the commission’s headquarters in Oldest Congo Town, Monrovia, on behalf of the three institutions.
Bangalu said the initiative follows a directive from President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, who mandated the three agencies to work together to address undocumented migrant populations and establish an accurate identification and documentation system. The registration is intended to create a credible database of foreign nationals and strengthen immigration management across the country.
The exercise is expected to establish the identities, locations and immigration status of foreign nationals, so that authorities can distinguish people with valid documentation from those whose entry or residency status requires further administrative attention. Bangalu said it would strengthen national identity management, migration governance, border security, public administration and the rule of law.
The government has raised concerns about the presence of Burkinabè nationals in southeastern Liberia, particularly in Grand Gedeh and River Gee counties, where many are reportedly engaged in agriculture, including cocoa farming, and in mining. On June 4, Bangalu informed Boakai that about 140,000 Burkinabè nationals were living in those two counties, a disclosure that heightened concerns about land use, environmental protection, unauthorized economic activities and national security in remote communities where government monitoring remains challenging. Boakai subsequently expressed concern about the influx of undocumented Burkinabè and other foreign nationals and directed security and immigration institutions to strengthen border surveillance and enforce existing immigration laws.
Beyond immigration enforcement, the information collected is expected to help authorities address concerns about possible unauthorized mining, forest encroachment and other activities that could undermine environmental protection and local land rights.
Sources: The New Dawn
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
