Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama. Image credit: The Presidency/ Ghana
(The Post News) – Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has on Wednesday confirmed that the government has officially begun receiving West African nationals deported from the United States. Ghana is the latest country to accept people deported from the US as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The president also confirmed that the first group of returnees have arrived in Ghana earlier this week. The deportees included 14 individuals made up of Nigerians, a Gambian, and other West Africans. Ghanaian officials stated that arrangements have been made to facilitate their safe return to their countries of origin.
According to the president, the United States approached Ghana with a request to receive third-country nationals targeted for deportation under Washington’s current immigration enforcement campaign.
“We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the US, 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,” said Mahama
The president emphasized that the policy was consistent with the Economic Community of West African States free movement protocol, which allows citizens of the sub-region to enter Ghana without visas for up to 90 days.
Trump had previously directed deportations to countries such as Eswatini, South Sudan, and Rwanda despite objections from international rights groups about potential risks.
However, Nigeria rejected a similar arrangement. In July, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, stated that Abuja would not accept deportees from outside its territory, citing economic and security implications, Ghana local publication reports.
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