Ghana Is Latest African Nation to Agree to Receive Third-Country Deportees From the US

Ghana has become the latest African country to accept deportees from the United States under the Trump administration's third-country deportation policy, joining Eswatini, Rwanda, South Sudan, and, more recently, Uganda.

President John Mahama confirmed on Wednesday that 14 West African nationals deported from the U.S. had arrived in Ghana, including Nigerians and Gambians who plan to return to their home countries.

"We agreed with Washington that West African nationals were acceptable because all our fellow West African nationals don't need a visa to come to our country," Mahama said, according to The Associated Press. He added that under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol on free movement, Ghana can admit any West African citizen without additional requirements. Mahama did not specify whether any of the deportees had criminal records.

The arrangement follows months of negotiations between U.S. officials and several African governments as the Trump administration seeks to expand deportation options for migrants whose countries of origin refuse to take them back. While Ghana is the first West African nation to confirm such an agreement, Uganda announced last month that it would also receive some deportees, provided they are not unaccompanied minors and have no criminal records.

The policy has faced sharp criticism from rights groups and legal experts, who question its legality and warn about potential human rights abuses. In Eswatini, five men deported by the U.S. in July remain in solitary confinement at a maximum-security facility without charge or access to legal counsel, according to CNN.

U.S. officials have defended the strategy as part of President Donald Trump's broader immigration crackdown. "The Trump administration is committed to removing criminal illegal aliens from the United States," a White House spokesperson told CNN back in Ausut. However, opposition groups in countries like Uganda and Ghana warn that the deals risk compromising sovereignty and placing vulnerable deportees in legal uncertainty.