Trump Deportation Policy: Ghana Accepts Nigerians, Other West African Migrants Deported from U.S.

Ghana has begun receiving West African migrants deported from the United States as part of President Donald Trump’s hardline deportation policy.

According to a report by PUNCH, President John Dramani Mahama confirmed on Wednesday that the first batch of 14 deportees, including Nigerians, a Gambian, and others, had already arrived in Accra. Ghanaian authorities, he added, are facilitating their return to their respective home countries.

“We were approached by the U.S. to accept third-party nationals who were being removed, and we agreed that West African nationals were acceptable because our fellow West Africans don’t need a visa to come to our country,” Mahama said.

The president justified the move by noting that citizens of West African states already enjoy visa-free access to Ghana under ECOWAS protocols.

The development comes amid Washington’s intensified deportation drive under Trump, who has pushed to remove migrants to “third countries” as part of his strict immigration policy. Rights groups have raised concerns about the safety and legality of such arrangements.

Trump’s administration has previously overseen deportations to countries such as Eswatini, South Sudan, and Rwanda.

Nigeria, however, has rejected similar proposals from Washington. In July, Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar said the Federal Government would not accept deportees from outside Nigeria, citing national security and economic concerns.

On July 9, Trump hosted five West African leaders  from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal, at the White House. One of the key objectives of that meeting, according to Reuters, was to persuade them to receive deportees from other countries.