President John Dramani Mahama has declared that Ghana has officially joined four other African nations in concluding a deal with Washington to take in U.S. deportees.
The President said during a media appearance in Accra on Wednesday night that 14 deportees—including one Gambian and one Nigerian—had already reached Ghana before being sent back to their countries of origin.
“We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the U.S, and we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable because all our fellow West Africans don’t need a visa to come to our country,” President Mahama explained.
The accord placed Ghana with Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Eswatini, all of whom have made similar agreements with Washington in recent months, though he did not specify how many deportees Ghana will eventually accept.
In August, Uganda’s foreign ministry declared that it would take in migrants who had been deported from the United States, provided they were not unaccompanied kids and had no criminal records. Meanwhile, South Sudan revealed last week that it had received a Mexican deportee in July, while Rwanda confirmed its own agreement with Washington that same month. In contrast, Eswatini has taken in deportees from countries outside of Africa, such as Cuba, Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, and Yemen.
Ahead of the November elections, US President Donald Trump has stepped up his extreme immigration policies, promising to increase the number of undocumented immigrants removed and increase the use of so-called “third country” deportations.
During a rally in Arizona, Mr. Trump told Republican fans, “We’re like a garbage can for the world,” comparing the US to a “dumping ground” under his predecessor Joe Biden. That is what has occurred.
Washington’s latest trade and visa restrictions align with Ghana’s decision. A three-month-long single-entry visa is now the only option available to Ghanaian visitors to the United States, while tariffs on Ghanaian goods have increased from 10% to 15%.
President Mahama defended the agreement in the face of criticism, stating that it was in line with Ghana’s open-border policy for West Africans. “Without borrowing, we have managed to subsist. We should take our time returning to the capital market. He emphasised that safeguarding national interests while upholding international commitments remained the top focus, saying, “It is all about fiscal discipline.”
