September 29, 2025
Ghanaian president states the country initially accepted 14 West African nationals deported by the U.S.
Eleven West African nationals deported from the U.S. to Ghana under an agreement with the Trump administration have been deported again, according to their lawyer. This raises concerns that some of them may face danger in their home countries.
After the United States deported West African immigrants to Ghana, the country’s authorities had previously claimed that all the deportees had been sent back home. However, the deportees and their lawyers later told The Associated Press that 11 of them were still held at a facility in Ghana.
The deportees from Nigeria, Mali, Gambia, and Liberia filed a lawsuit against the Ghanaian government last week, seeking their release from detention. Eight of them argued they have legal protections against being deported to their home countries due to safety concerns.
“We have to inform the court that the persons whose human rights we are seeking to enforce were all deported over the weekend,” their lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, told the court, according to ABC News.
Because laws prevent deporting migrants to their home countries, the Trump administration has been trying to send them to other nations through agreements with their governments. Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama confirmed Ghana’s agreement with the United States.
“We were approached by the U.S. to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the U.S., and we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable because all our fellow West Africans don’t need a visa to come to our country,” Dramani told Reuters.
The Trump administration’s deportation program has faced criticism from human rights advocates who cite international protections for asylum-seekers and express concerns about whether immigrants will be properly screened before being deported. The Trump administration has been seeking ways to prevent immigrants from entering the U.S. illegally and to remove those already in the country.
Eswatini, Rwanda, and South Sudan are other countries that serve as destinations for third-country migrants deported from the United States.
RELATED CONTENT: Federal Judge Can’t Help West Africans Trump Deported To Ghana, Says Her ‘Hands Are Tied’
