A group of West African migrants deported from the United States has taken Ghana to West Africa’s highest human rights court, accusing the country of helping enforce a deportation policy that puts vulnerable people at risk.
The case, filed on Monday before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, targets Ghana’s role in accepting migrants removed from the United States under President Donald Trump’s expanded third-country deportation programme.
The legal action was brought by Ghanaian law firm Merton & Everett LLP, the Cornell Law School Transnational Disputes Clinic in the United States, and the Global Strategic Litigation Council, a coalition of human rights organisations.
The lawsuit argues that Ghana has breached both domestic and regional human rights obligations by accepting migrants whom US courts had previously determined could face persecution, torture or other serious harm if returned directly to their home countries.
“No person should be returned to a place where they face persecution, torture or serious threats to their dignity and safety,” said Oliver Barker-Vormawor, senior partner at Merton & Everett LLP.
Challenge to Trump’s deportation policy
The legal challenge comes as the Trump administration continues a broader crackdown on immigration. The administration has widened the categories of migrants eligible for removal, including some who had previously been granted legal protections in the United States.
When US authorities are legally prevented from deporting individuals directly to their countries of origin, they have increasingly relied on third countries willing to receive them temporarily.
According to the legal team, at least 60 people have been deported to Ghana since September, with 27 of them joining the lawsuit.
Lawyers representing the migrants say many had already secured asylum or other legal protections in the United States before being removed under the new policy.
The Trump administration has argued that US law prohibits deporting people directly to countries where they could face persecution, but does not prevent sending them first to another country.
Questions over Ghana’s role
The lawsuit also raises concerns about what happens after migrants arrive in Ghana.
Lawyers claim that some deportees have later been returned to their home countries or transferred to neighbouring Togo without official documentation. Ghanaian authorities have disclosed few details about their agreement with Washington, saying only that it would receive West African nationals.
Shortly after the arrangement began, the United States lifted visa restrictions it had previously imposed on Ghana, though neither government has publicly linked the two developments.
None of the 27 migrants involved in the latest lawsuit remains in Ghana, according to their legal representatives.
“Many now remain in hiding in their home countries or have fled to third countries where they wait in limbo,” the legal coalition said.
Growing legal pressure
The Ghana case follows another legal complaint filed earlier this month before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights seeking to halt similar US deportations to Equatorial Guinea.
The latest challenge is expected to test how regional courts interpret the responsibilities of countries that cooperate with third-country deportation agreements, as governments across Africa face growing scrutiny over their role in international migration policies.
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