Ghana has officially joined four other African countries in an agreement with the United States to accept deportees. President John Dramani Mahama confirmed this during a media engagement in Accra on Wednesday evening. He revealed that 14 deportees, including Nigerians and one Gambian, had already arrived in Ghana before being transferred to their home countries.
President Mahama explained that the U.S. approached Ghana to accept third-party nationals being deported and that they agreed to accept West African nationals because these individuals do not require a visa to enter the country. Although he did not specify how many deportees Ghana would ultimately accept, the agreement positions the country alongside Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Eswatini, all of which have made similar deals with Washington in recent months.
Uganda’s foreign ministry announced in August that it would accept U.S. deportees under the condition that they have no criminal record and are not unaccompanied minors. In the same month, Rwanda confirmed its own arrangement with the U.S. South Sudan reported last week that it had received a Mexican deportee in July. Eswatini has also accepted deportees from outside Africa, including individuals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen, and Cuba.
The policy comes as US President Donald Trump intensifies his hardline stance on immigration ahead of the November elections, pledging to step up removals of undocumented immigrants and expand the use of so-called “third country” deportations. At a rally in Arizona, Mr Trump described the US as a “dumping ground” under his predecessor Joe Biden, telling Republican supporters: “We’re like a garbage can for the world. That’s what’s happened.”
Ghana’s decision coincides with recent trade and visa restrictions imposed by Washington. Tariffs on Ghanaian goods have been raised from 10 to 15 per cent, while Ghanaian travellers to the US are now limited to single-entry visas valid for just three months.
Despite criticism from some quarters, President Mahama defended the arrangement, insisting that it was consistent with Ghana’s open-border policy for West Africans. “We have survived without borrowing. We shouldn’t be in a hurry to go back to the capital market. It is all about fiscal discipline,” he said, stressing that the priority remained on protecting national interests while honouring international obligations.
Source: GraphicOnline
