Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has told Parliament that 169 Ghanaians have been deported from the United States since January 2025, with a further 120 awaiting final immigration decisions.

Briefing the House on Thursday, November 20, the Minister said a total of 388 Ghanaians had been detained in the US on immigration-related grounds over the period.

“388 Ghanaians have been in detention since January this year on immigration-related charges. Of this number, 120 are awaiting final decisions by the Board of Immigration Appeals. 49 have exhausted all legal processes and await final deportation arrangements.”

“As of today, per the Ministry’s records, 169 Ghanaians have been deported to Ghana since January 2025. Of this number, 90 arrived in Ghana unaccompanied on commercial flights, and 66 on chartered, controlled flights supervised by ICE agents,” the Minister added.

The Minister also clarified that Ghana had not asked the United States for any money, logistics or material assistance in connection with the deportations.

Responding to a question from MPs on what Ghana was gaining from the arrangement, he said:
“The government of Ghana has not requested any monetary support, logistical support, any material support for this intervention. The understanding is purely on humanitarian grounds.”

“We are Pan-Africanists. These are fellow West Africans who are in distress, being detained, being treated shabbily, without dignity, and we cannot look on as Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana,” he told Parliament.