Eleven people deported from the United States and sent back to Ghana have filed a lawsuit against the government of the West African nation, challenging what they describe as their unlawful detention. Their lawyer, Oliver-Barker Vormawor, told the BBC that his clients had not broken any Ghanaian law, yet they were being held at a military camp against their will. According to Vormawor, the court application demands that the government immediately present the deportees before a judge and justify the legal basis for their continued detention.
The development comes amid rising political tension over Ghana’s recent agreement with the United States to accept deportees as part of Washington’s hard-line immigration policy under President Donald Trump. The deportees were previously held in US detention facilities before being shackled and flown to Ghana on a military cargo aircraft. Their lawyer argues that this treatment violated both their rights and Ghana’s legal standards, insisting that the government has failed to respect due process.
The Ghanaian government has yet to comment on the lawsuit, but it has already confirmed plans to receive an additional 40 deportees under the same arrangement. Opposition Members of Parliament, however, are calling for an immediate suspension of the deal, insisting that it must first be ratified by parliament before being implemented. They argue that the government may have acted outside the framework of Ghanaian law by accepting deportees without the necessary legislative approval.
President John Mahama recently announced that 14 deportees of West African origin had arrived in Ghana following the US agreement. He further claimed that all had since been returned to their countries of origin. However, his statement was contradicted by Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who clarified that only “most” had been returned. The new court filing directly challenges both versions of events, asserting that at least 11 deportees remain in detention in Ghana despite the government’s contradictory statements.
The deportees’ case highlights the growing controversy surrounding President Trump’s immigration policies, which have prioritized record-level deportations of undocumented migrants from the United States. Human rights groups and opposition figures in Ghana fear that the government’s cooperation with Washington may lead to violations of international law and Ghana’s own constitutional protections.
Ghana’s Foreign Minister defended the decision to accept deportees, saying it was based on humanitarian principles and pan-African solidarity, stressing that it should not be interpreted as support for Trump’s immigration agenda. Nonetheless, public debate continues to intensify, with many questioning whether Ghana is being pressured into compliance by the US.
In a parallel development, five of the deportees including three Nigerians and two Gambians—have also taken legal action against the US government itself. They argue that their deportations violated existing court orders in the United States which should have protected them from removal. This cross-border legal battle underscores the complexity of the issue, as both Ghana and the US face mounting scrutiny over the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers.
The lawsuit in Ghana not only exposes the legal uncertainty surrounding the deportation deal but also raises broader questions about sovereignty, human rights, and the balance between international diplomacy and domestic law. As the case proceeds, it is expected to spark wider debate about the rights of deportees, the role of the judiciary, and Ghana’s obligations under both national and international law.
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