Ghana’s president has said his government has agreed a deal with Washington, despite “tightening” bilateral relations
Ghana has received 14 migrants from the US under a bilateral deal tied to Washington’s controversial third-country deportation scheme, the West African nation’s president has announced.
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama told journalists during a briefing in Accra late Wednesday that the group included “several” Nigerians and one Gambian national who have opted to return to their home countries.
As with arrangements with Uganda, South Sudan, Eswatini, and Rwanda, the terms of Ghana’s deal remain unclear. President Mahama gave no specifics but described Ghana–US relations as a “tightening situation.”
“First we were slapped with a 10% tariff … increased to 15%, and then we were included in 36 countries that were going to be placed on a visa ban,” Mahama said, adding that Accra “still enjoys good” relations with Washington regardless.
“We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the US,” he added.
He said his government has agreed to accept only West African nationals because they do not require a visa to enter Ghana under the regional bloc ECOWAS free movement protocol.
The move makes Ghana the fifth African state, and the only one in West Africa, to reach a deal with US President Donald Trump’s administration to accept migrants barred from staying in the US. Trump has cited security concerns and visa overstays as reasons for the expedited removals.
Eswatini, Rwanda, and South Sudan have already received deportees, including citizens of Jamaica, Vietnam and Laos, in recent weeks after the US Supreme Court cleared the White House to proceed with removals. Uganda also announced last month a “temporary arrangement” with Washington to accept migrants without criminal records.
Human rights groups have opposed the deportation strategy, arguing it violates international laws on migration. The African Union’s human rights body has also warned countries to halt agreements that risk turning the continent into a “dumping zone” for arbitrary expulsions.
Ghana’s neighbor Nigeria, which has said it will not accept third-country migrants, accused the US of using visa sanctions and steep tariffs to “coerce” African states into compliance.
