Ghana has received its first group of West Africans deported from the United States, part of a wider strategy by the Trump administration to expand removals to third countries, even when the deportees have little or no ties there.
President John Mahama confirmed on Wednesday that 14 people, including several Nigerians and one Gambian, had been flown into Accra this week. Ghanaian authorities, he said, had facilitated their onward travel to their countries of origin.
“We were approached by the U.S. to accept third-party nationals who were being removed,” Mr. Mahama said at a news conference. “And we agreed that West African nationals were acceptable.” He noted that under the regional bloc ECOWAS, West Africans can move freely across borders without visas.
What we know
The president did not say how many deportees Ghana might accept in the future. “West Africans don’t need a visa anyway,” he added, defending the decision.
Deporting immigrants to countries where they have no family, cultural or legal connections has become a feature of President Donald J. Trump’s immigration crackdown. His administration has already sent deportees to South Sudan and Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland. In some cases, deportations have gone forward even after U.S. courts ordered planes to turn around.
The arrangement with Ghana comes at a tense time domestically. Though Ghana has long hosted a large Nigerian community, protests flared in several cities this summer, with demonstrators accusing Nigerian migrants of crime and economic competition.
In July, Nigeria dispatched a special envoy to Accra and urged calm, while officials from both countries sought to ease tensions.
Backstory
The deal also coincides with strains in U.S.-Ghana relations. Washington has recently raised tariffs on some Ghanaian exports and tightened restrictions on visas issued to its nationals. Mr. Mahama acknowledged the difficulties, describing relations with Washington as “tightening,” though still fundamentally positive.
Nigeria has resisted similar requests from Washington to accept deportees from outside the region.
“The U.S. is mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans, some straight out of prisons,” Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said in July. “It will be difficult for Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners.”
He suggested that American tariff threats were linked to the deportation issue.
The Trump administration has pushed the boundaries of U.S. deportation policy elsewhere, including sending people to Panama and El Salvador under rarely used 18th-century legal provisions. Critics say such measures strip migrants of their right to due process, while the administration argues they are necessary to deter unlawful immigration.
