A complaint filed by Asian Americans Advancing Justice urges a judge to halt the deportations, noting that none of the 14 deportees were originally from Ghana and the five West Africans bringing the suit had no ties to the country or designated it as a place of removal.
The group, which includes three Nigerians and two Gambians, says they were secretly flown out of a detention centre in Louisiana, shackled on a military cargo plane, and left in Ghana without proper notice.
Their lawsuit, filed in Washington DC, challenges the legality of the deportation and raises new questions about America’s practice of sending migrants to third countries in Africa.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs, identified only by their initials D.A., T.L., I.O., D.S., and K.S. were woken in the middle of the night on September 5 at a detention center in Alexandria, Louisiana.
The plaintiffs claim the deportation violated immigration court orders, which had previously granted them protection on the basis of credible fear of persecution in their home countries.
Their lawyers argue that the forced transfer breached both U.S. immigration law and international conventions.
Ghana’s plan to send deported migrants home raise tension
Attorneys for the migrants told the federal judge that their clients risk being sent to their home countries despite protections against return.
Lawyers said four migrants face imminent transfer to their home countries, while one has already been deported to The Gambia and gone into hiding because of his sexual orientation, according to a lawsuit filed Friday as per ABC News.
The Lawyers also confirmed that detainees have been visited by representatives of their home governments and could be removed from Ghana within days.
Following arguments, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the Trump administration to explain what steps it was taking to ensure that deportees in Ghana would not be sent back to countries where they fear persecution or torture.
Government attorneys responded that Washington could not dictate Ghana’s actions, even as they admitted Accra was not following the assurances it had given.
Recall Ghana’s President Mahama confirmed the arrival of 14 deportees, including Nigerians and one Gambian, in Accra, adding that they will be transferred to their home countries.
Mahama highlighted Ghana’s role as a transit hub which reflected the very risk of onward deportation the judge had warned about.
Attorneys for the migrants argued that the court could order the U.S. government to facilitate their return, citing a precedent where Kilmar Abrego Garcia was brought back from El Salvador.
In their filing, the migrants accused the U.S. government of skirting legal restrictions by outsourcing deportations.
“Defendants know that they may not, consistent with U.S. immigration law, directly deport non-citizens to countries from which they have been granted fear-based protection,” the complaint stated.
“As an end-run around this prohibition, defendants have enlisted the government of Ghana to do their dirty work,” the plaintiffs added.
They are now asking U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to order their return to the United States, citing violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act as well as the Convention Against Torture.
