United States deported protected migrants to Ghana under undisclosed third-country deal

On September 5, 2025, the United States deported the first group of third-country nationals to Ghana — ten men and four women from Nigeria, Gambia, Togo, Mali, and Liberia, ten of whom had been granted withholding of removal or Convention Against Torture protection by U.S. immigration judges barring their return to their home countries. Ghanaian President John Mahama publicly confirmed the arrangement on September 11, 2025, in a BBC report, stating Ghana would accept West African nationals under ECOWAS free-movement protocols; the underlying agreement's text has never been released by either government.

Five men who were part of the first flight, from Nigeria and Gambia, filed suit one week later, on September 12, 2025, in D.A. v. Noem, alleging they were deported to Ghana without notice or a chance to raise a fear of persecution there, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Convention Against Torture. A federal judge denied emergency relief on September 15, finding the government's conduct "appear[ed] to be taken in disregard of ... its obligations to provide individuals ... with due process" but that the court lacked jurisdiction to order their return.

Further flights arrived October 13 (17 people) and November 7, 2025 (19 people), and again in June 2026 (7 people), bringing the confirmed total to at least 60. Reuters reported in January 2026, based on interviews with six lawyers, legal filings in both countries, and complaints filed with the U.N. human rights office, that of more than 30 deportees it tracked, at least 22 were subsequently forced by Ghanaian authorities to return to their home countries despite the U.S. court orders barring exactly that outcome; in one case captured on video, a woman deported from Maryland after 30 years in the U.S. was shown being forcibly dragged by Ghanaian officials back to Sierra Leone.

Updates

2026-02-25 — Federal judge ruled third-country removal policy unlawful [4]

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of the District of Massachusetts granted partial summary judgment in D.V.D. v. DHS, declaring unlawful and vacating the DHS policy under which the Ghana deportations were carried out, ruling that migrants are entitled to meaningful notice and an opportunity to raise a fear-based claim before being removed to a country other than the one designated in their removal proceedings. DHS said it would appeal.

2026-06-30 — Rights lawyers sued Ghana over forced returns at ECOWAS court [5]

An international coalition of human rights lawyers, including the Global Strategic Litigation Council, sued Ghana before the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States, representing 27 of the roughly 60 people the United States deported to Ghana. The suit alleges Ghana routinely forced deportees back to their home countries within hours or days of arrival despite their U.S.-granted protections, in violation of the regional free-movement treaty and Ghana's non-refoulement obligations.