West Africans deported by US sue Ghana government
Eleven individuals deported from the US to Ghana last month filed a lawsuit against the Ghana government, charging that they were illegally held in a military detention camp. The legal action reflects the chaotic fallout following the deportations, which have resulted in deportees being scattered and "dumped" into neighboring African countries. The deportees are of multiple West African nationalities, none of which is Ghanaian.
"The initial 14 [deportees] were brought to Ghana on Sept. 6," lead lawyer Oliver Barker-Vormawor explained to media outlets. "Three were deported [from Ghana] that night. Eleven were held in military detention. Out of that 11, 10 were deported with the matter in court, and eight of them are in Togo."
The deportations arose from a "third country deportation" agreement between the US and Ghana earlier this year. Ghana's parliamentary minority bloc has now called for its suspension, as leaders claim the government entered into the agreement without proper legislative approval. Samuel Abu Jinapor, a ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Ghana's Parliament, argued:
The government's conduct in operationalizing the agreement with the United States without parliamentary ratification is a direct constitutional violation of Article 75 and an affront to the authority of the [Ghanan] Supreme Court. It is therefore deeply concerning that the government continues to operationalize the agreement despite this flagrant operational breach.
Ghana's Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa told local media that the decision to enter into the agreement was not a signal of support for the US administration, but rather a decision "grounded purely on humanitarian principle and Pan-African empathy." However, reports have claimed that Ablakwa and President John Mahama may also be motivated by the hope that the White House will lift travel restrictions on Ghanaians entering the US as consideration for the agreement.
After initial pushback from federal courts, in July the US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to enter into third-country deportation agreements with multiple nations, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Eswatini, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. International organizations have warned that the policy risks great harm to individuals, and skirts government accountability.
The West African deportees also filed a lawsuit in the US courts last month, asserting that they were taken from an immigration facility, shackled, placed in straitjackets, and flown to Ghana in a cargo plane without meaningful notice or hearing.
From JURIST, Oct. 7. Used with permission.
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Press freedom groups condemned the arrests as intimidation, noting Cameroon's harsh climate for media. (TNH)
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A US federal court ruled on Feb. 25 that the Trump administration's third-country deportation policy is unlawful because it fails to provide migrants a chance to object or raise safety concerns.
The case, before the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, came out of a class action lawsuit brought by eight migrants who were removed under the Trump administration's third-country deportation policy. Migrants left the US with the intended destination of South Sudan, but instead ended up in Djibouti. Neither destination appeared on their removal documents.
In the opinion, Judge Brian Murphy analyzed Congressional intent in making deportation and immigration policy, writing:
The court ruled that the Trump administration, specifically the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), may not remove migrants to a third-country other than their own. Officials must first attempt to send migrants to the country that appears on their paperwork. Additionally, DHS must give migrants adequate notice and hearing of removal to third-countries.
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