Nearly a dozen American deportees claim they are still being held in detention in Ghana, contradicting official statements by the Ghanaian government
According to the deportees and their legal representatives, 11 of the 14 U.S. migrants sent to Ghana under a controversial American deportation scheme are still locked up at a military camp, where they describe suffering from malnutrition, illness, and poor living conditions.
Ghanaian authorities, however, insist otherwise.
Felix Kwakye Ofosu, a spokesperson for the presidency, told AP on Tuesday that all 14 deportees had already been transferred to their home countries.
The group reportedly included a Gambian, two Nigerians, and several others initially described by Ghana as Nigerian.
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But in phone calls with AP, the detainees described a very different reality.
A Nigerian man, who said he had lived in the U.S. for 12 years, reported that some of them had contracted malaria from unsafe water and food.
Another deportee, a 28-year-old Togolese, said, “Nobody said anything about why they were deporting me or where they were sending me.”
Their attorney, Meredyth Yoon of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, expressed concern for their safety, suggesting that Ghana’s insistence on denying their presence may be an attempt to deflect scrutiny.
“They are afraid that the reason the Ghanaian government is insisting that they are not in the country is because they are afraid something will happen to them,” she said.
The case is linked to a Trump-era U.S. immigration policy that permits the transfer of deportees to “third-party countries” with which they have no ties.
Critics argue that the scheme strips migrants of due process and places them in unsafe conditions.
Similar arrangements have been made with countries such as Eswatini and Rwanda, both of which agreed to host migrants deported from the United States.
Human rights advocates warn that the policy exposes vulnerable individuals to persecution, while straining the capacity of African nations to host foreign deportees.
Ghana’s decision to participate has drawn criticism, particularly as the detainees’ testimonies continue to cast doubt on official reassurances.
Image Credit: MSN
