A new group of West African migrants has been deported from the United States to Ghana, including at least one individual who was still under deportation protection, according to a lawyer involved in the case who spoke to AFP on Saturday.
The deportations form part of former US President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown, which has targeted migrants who might previously have been allowed to remain in the country under earlier policies. His administration has also expanded “third-country” deportation arrangements, enabling the US to transfer migrants to nations where they have no personal or legal ties.
Ghana has, since last year, been temporarily receiving deportees from the US before arranging their onward return to their countries of origin, including individuals who had previously been granted protection by US immigration courts on the grounds that they could face persecution if sent back home. In some cases, Ghana has reportedly moved deportees to neighbouring Togo without proper documentation.
The exact number of people in the latest deportation group has not been confirmed. However, US-based attorney Meredyth Yoon, who is linked to one of the cases, said the individuals arrived on Thursday. Ghana’s immigration authorities have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Yoon said one of those affected is a Guinean national who had been granted “withholding of removal,” a legal status that prevents deportation to the home country but does not grant full asylum rights such as citizenship.
Concerns have been raised that deportees could still be sent onward from Ghana to their home countries. The lawyer warned that those affected “could all be deported back to their countries as soon as tomorrow.”
The US government has previously argued that such protections only prevent removal directly to the country of origin, not to third countries like Ghana.
Reports also indicate that Ghana has, in the past, transferred some deportees to their home countries or left them in neighbouring states. One documented case involved a Gambian man who feared persecution due to his sexual orientation after being moved onward.
Earlier batches of deportees have included more than 40 individuals, though neither Washington nor Accra has officially disclosed total figures. Some were reportedly held under security at a military facility near Accra before being relocated.
The policy is part of Trump’s wider immigration agenda, which included promises of mass deportations and stricter controls on asylum and refugee admissions in the United States.