Ghana has become the latest country to accept people deported from the US as part of its campaign against undocumented migrants.
President John Mahama said nationals from various West African countries would now be taken in following a bilateral agreement with the US, with 14 already having arrived in the country.
He cited the regional bloc Ecowas's free movement protocol that allows citizens of member states to enter and reside in other West African countries without a visa.
Last month, the US deported seven migrants to Rwanda, continuing a trend of sending deportees to various African nations. The agreement includes several Nigerians and one Gambian, with the former already facilitated back to Nigeria.
”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,” Mahama stated.
Ghana’s acceptance aligns with Ecowas and reflects its open-border policy for fellow West Africans. The president noted the complexities of US relations, citing hiked US tariffs on Ghanaian goods but emphasized positive interactions.
The Trump administration has pursued various African countries to accept deportees as part of a strategy to deter immigration, a move that has faced significant pushback and criticism from human rights organizations.
Nigeria has previously resisted such pressure, stating that it cannot take in deportees while dealing with its own internal challenges.
