In a development that has ignited controversy over U.S. immigration policies and regional humanitarian efforts, Ghana’s government announced on Monday that a group of 14 West Africans deported from the United States has been forwarded to their respective home countries, including 13 Nigerians and one Gambian.
The decision, defended by Ghanaian authorities as a humanitarian gesture, has drawn sharp criticism from opposition figures, activists, and even Nigerian officials who expressed shock over the lack of prior notification.
Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Ghana’s Minister for Government Communications, confirmed to The Associated Press that the deportees “have since left for their home countries,” emphasising that Ghana’s involvement was purely on compassionate grounds.
The announcement came during a press briefing in Accra, where Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa rejected accusations that the move endorsed U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive migration crackdown.
“We accepted these third-country deportees purely on humanitarian principle,” Ablakwa stated, adding that Ghana received no financial compensation from the U.S. and that the arrangement is limited to West African nationals who do not require visas to enter the country.
The deportations are part of Trump’s broader strategy to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, including through agreements with “third countries” like Ghana to expedite removals.
News of the group’s arrival in Ghana first emerged last Wednesday, though the exact date of their flight from the U.S. remains unclear.
A U.S. federal lawsuit filed on behalf of five of the migrants alleges they were subjected to harsh treatment, including being restrained in “straitjackets” for 16 hours during the flight and held in “squalid conditions” in a military-run open-air detention facility upon arrival.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, overseeing the case, accused the Trump administration of attempting an “end-run” around legal protections that prevent deporting individuals to countries where they face persecution or torture.
She ordered the U.S. government to detail efforts to ensure Ghana would not violate court orders by sending the migrants onward. Lawyers representing four of the deportees contradicted Ghana’s claims on Monday, stating that their clients remain in the country and have not yet been repatriated, heightening concerns over their safety.
One plaintiff, a bisexual Nigerian man, has reportedly already been sent to Gambia and is in hiding due to fears of persecution.
The lawsuit argues that none of the 14 had ties to Ghana or were designated as a removal destination, and that the U.S. action evaded immigration laws protecting vulnerable migrants.