West Africans Deported By US To Ghana Dumped In Togo Without Papers, New Report Claims

West Africans expelled from the United States and sent through Ghana claim they have been left stranded in Togo without identification or legal assistance, prompting concerns from attorneys and human rights organizations.

Attorneys informed AFP that these expulsions are part of US President Donald Trump’s extensive deportation initiative, which has been criticized for its opacity. The matter gained attention earlier this month when Ghana’s President John Mahama acknowledged an agreement with Washington to accept certain deportees from the region.

Since that time, at least eight to 10 individuals have been transferred from Ghana to Togo. They were reportedly escorted across the Aflao border near Lomé and abandoned on the streets without passports.

“The situation is terrible,” said Benjamin, a Nigerian national using a pseudonym to avoid retaliation. He explained that he was confined in a hotel room with three other deportees, relying on funds sent by family in the US. Benjamin, who had obtained a court order preventing his deportation to Nigeria due to safety concerns, said he was assaulted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers after refusing to board a military aircraft.

He was eventually transported to Ghana.Another deportee, Emmanuel, a Liberian who escaped his country’s civil war in the 1990s and received asylum in the US, told AFP he was also left in Togo. “We are in hiding right now because we have no type of documents, ID whatsoever,” he said.

Both men, who held green cards and are married to American citizens, were detained for over two weeks under military supervision at Ghana’s Dema Camp with other deportees before being driven to the border. They reported that conditions there subjected them to extreme heat, mosquitoes, and contaminated water.

Lawyers state that at least 28 individuals have been sent to Ghana thus far. The initial group of 14 included several whose deportations were halted by US immigration judges due to risks of persecution. In one instance, a bisexual man from Gambia was reportedly returned immediately by Ghanaian authorities, despite the dangers posed by laws criminalizing same-sex relationships in his homeland.

US-based attorney Meredyth Yoon called the arrangement a “loophole,” asserting that Washington is bypassing court protections by routing deportees through Ghana, where officials can then forward them to their countries of origin.

The UN human rights office has called on Ghana to stop onward deportations to countries where individuals may face torture or persecution.

West Africans expelled from the United States and sent through Ghana claim they have been left stranded in Togo without identification or legal assistance, prompting concerns from attorneys and human rights organizations.

Attorneys informed AFP that these expulsions are part of US President Donald Trump’s extensive deportation initiative, which has been criticized for its opacity. The matter gained attention earlier this month when Ghana’s President John Mahama acknowledged an agreement with Washington to accept certain deportees from the region.

Since that time, at least eight to 10 individuals have been transferred from Ghana to Togo. They were reportedly escorted across the Aflao border near Lomé and abandoned on the streets without passports.

“The situation is terrible,” said Benjamin, a Nigerian national using a pseudonym to avoid retaliation. He explained that he was confined in a hotel room with three other deportees, relying on funds sent by family in the US. Benjamin, who had obtained a court order preventing his deportation to Nigeria due to safety concerns, said he was assaulted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers after refusing to board a military aircraft. He was eventually transported to Ghana.

Another deportee, Emmanuel, a Liberian who escaped his country’s civil war in the 1990s and received asylum in the US, told AFP he was also left in Togo. “We are in hiding right now because we have no type of documents, ID whatsoever,” he said.

Both men, who held green cards and are married to American citizens, were detained for over two weeks under military supervision at Ghana’s Dema Camp with other deportees before being driven to the border. They reported that conditions there subjected them to extreme heat, mosquitoes, and contaminated water.

Lawyers state that at least 28 individuals have been sent to Ghana thus far. The initial group of 14 included several whose deportations were halted by US immigration judges due to risks of persecution. In one instance, a bisexual man from Gambia was reportedly returned immediately by Ghanaian authorities, despite the dangers posed by laws criminalizing same-sex relationships in his homeland.

US-based attorney Meredyth Yoon called the arrangement a “loophole,” asserting that Washington is bypassing court protections by routing deportees through Ghana, where officials can then forward them to their countries of origin.

The UN human rights office has called on Ghana to stop onward deportations to countries where individuals may face torture or persecution.

The US State Department told AFP it would “pursue all appropriate options to remove aliens who should not be in the United States.” Ghanaian and Togolese authorities have not responded to the reports.

The US State Department told AFP it would “pursue all appropriate options to remove aliens who should not be in the United States.” Ghanaian and Togolese authorities have not responded to the reports.

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