West African Migrants Sue US Over Deportation to Ghana Amid Legal, Sovereignty Concerns

A group of Nigerian and Gambian migrants deported from the United States to Ghana has filed a lawsuit challenging the legality and conditions of their removal, alleging violations of immigration court orders and inhumane treatment during the transfer. The migrants, represented by Asian Americans Advancing Justice, claim they were secretly taken from a Louisiana detention center, shackled on a U.S. military cargo plane for 16 hours with minimal sustenance, and left in Ghana without proper notice, despite protections against return to their home countries due to fears of persecution. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has raised concerns that the Trump administration’s use of Ghana as a third-country deportation site appears to circumvent U.S. immigration laws and ordered the administration to explain measures to prevent the migrants from being sent back to countries where they face danger. Ghana’s government confirmed an agreement with the U.S. to receive deportees, with 14 individuals already admitted, prompting criticism from Ghana’s Minority Caucus for bypassing constitutional processes and risking the nation’s sovereignty and international standing. The migrants’ attorneys argue that the deportations violate the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Convention Against Torture, seeking their return to the U.S. The case highlights tensions over the Trump administration’s strategy to relocate migrants to third countries to expedite removals and the implications for human rights and diplomatic relations in West Africa.