Former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s detention by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not your typical immigration case, according to US immigration lawyer Jonelle Ocloo.

Mr Ofori-Atta is currently cooperating fully with ICE, his legal team says, while they engage authorities to resolve questions surrounding the status of his stay in the United States.

The former minister has a pending petition for adjustment of status, which allows an individual to remain legally in the country beyond the validity of an initial visa.

“I have been a US immigration lawyer for over 20 years now, and I can speak to what is typically done for detained cases and deportation cases, but if I can say clearly, as the ambassador has stated, Mr Ofori-Atta’s case is clearly not a typical one,” Ms Ocloo told Joy News’ PM Express.

She explained that the former minister’s profile makes the case extraordinary.

“It’s the fact that he’s a high-profile personality, a former minister in the Ghanaian government. So you know, I heard the statistic you gave about how many Ghanaians are currently detained, how many Ghanaians are up for deportation. But I can tell you quite certainly that you know he’s not your regular Ghanaian in detention.”

Ms Ocloo also highlighted the calibre of Mr Ofori-Atta’s legal team.

“He has really lawyered up. When you see the lawyers that he’s hired, you know a former American Attorney General, that is an indication of somebody who’s not going easily. So yeah, he’s definitely not your typical case.”

Questions have also been raised about the involvement of the FBI in Mr Ofori-Atta’s arrest. Ambassador Victor Smith previously disclosed that the agency was somehow involved in the ICE action.

“This is an indication that this isn’t simply about a visa overstay,” Ms Ocloo said.

“If it was just a visa overstay, I dealt with a number of cases with, say, international students, maybe who had their student visa revoked, that sort of thing.

"But no, I feel that the fact that the FBI was involved is an indication of what was said previously, that this had to do with the extradition request, and that is why the FBI is involved.”

Her assessment indicates that Mr Ofori-Atta’s situation is significantly more complex than that of routine immigration detainees.

While most detainees without high-profile representation face deportation, Ms Ocloo emphasised that the former minister’s case, with its FBI dimension and high-powered legal team, sets it apart from standard immigration proceedings.