The US-Ghana deportation deal has sparked a wave of anger and moral outrage across Ghana and among its diaspora, as accusations of human rights abuses and constitutional violations mount. At the center of this controversy lies a grim reality: dozens of African deportees, detained under President Donald Trump’s revived “third-country deportation” policy, are being sent to Ghana-a country many of them have never called home. In exchange, the Ghanaian government appears to be leveraging human lives for economic and diplomatic favors from Washington.

The deportees’ journey began in the United States, where they were captured by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), processed through expedited deportation proceedings, and placed on planes bound for Accra. Upon arrival, instead of being received as asylum seekers or processed through civil immigration systems, they were taken to the Bundase Military Camp-a functioning military base outside Ghana’s capital city.

Lawyer and human rights activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor, convener of Democracy Hub, represents 11 of the deportees in ongoing court cases. His clients’ testimonies paint a picture of neglect and degradation: no running water, no bedding, no sanitary products for women, and no medical care for the sick. “The place was not designed to keep humans,” Barker-Vormawor said.

He estimates that at least 42 deportees have been sent to Ghana in small groups since September 2025. According to him, government secrecy around the operation makes it impossible to know the full number. The deportees, all West Africans, were reportedly transferred from the US to Ghana under a deal struck by President John Dramani Mahama’s administration.

Under President Trump’s renewed hardline immigration policy, the US has intensified its efforts to remove undocumented migrants and asylum seekers-often transferring them to “partner countries” willing to host third-country nationals. In return, these countries receive political, financial, or trade concessions.

President Mahama’s government joined that list, agreeing to accept deportees of West African origin. Mahama justified the decision by claiming Ghana was providing “temporary refuge” for West Africans who would later be repatriated to their home countries under ECOWAS free movement provisions. However, none of the deportees represented by Barker-Vormawor are Ghanaian citizens.

Court filings by Democracy Hub reveal that while at Bundase Camp, the deportees were denied contact with lawyers or family members. Only after their release did Barker-Vormawor gain access to them. He and his organization have since filed two lawsuits challenging the government’s actions-one in the Human Rights Court and another at the Supreme Court.

The first lawsuit argues that detaining deportees under such conditions violates Ghana’s constitution and international treaties, including the 1951........

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