Ghana Defends Decision to Accept U.S. Deportees, Rejects Claims of Endorsing Trump’s Immigration Policy

Ghana’s government has defended its decision to accept West African migrants deported from the United States, stressing that the move is based on humanitarian and Pan-African principles rather than support for President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration agenda.

Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa told reporters on Monday that Ghana had agreed to receive a number of deportees after Washington requested the country take in “third-party nationals.”

President John Dramani Mahama announced last week that 14 migrants, including Nigerians and one Gambian, had already been flown to Accra. Ablakwa dismissed suggestions that the arrangement amounted to an endorsement of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

This should not be misconstrued as an endorsement of the immigration policies of the Trump administration, Our decision is grounded purely on humanitarian principle and Pan-African empathy, he noted.

The foreign minister emphasised that Ghana was not receiving any financial or material compensation for accepting the deportees. He added that all arrivals would be vetted to ensure that “hardened criminals” were not admitted into the country.

A U.S. federal judge over the weekend suggested the Trump administration may have intentionally skirted immigration laws in deporting migrants to Ghana, raising further controversy over the practice.

Opposition lawmakers in Ghana have called for the deal to be suspended, arguing that it should have been submitted to parliament for approval. Ablakwa countered that the arrangement was only a memorandum of understanding, which did not require parliamentary endorsement. However, he noted lawmakers could review it if it evolved into a “full-blown agreement.”

Recall that Uganda recently announced it would “temporarily” accept migrants deported from the United States, joining a growing list of African governments aligning with Trump’s administration’s mass deportation efforts under a sweeping immigration crackdown.

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