Ghana won’t accept Abrego Garcia deportation – Ablakwa
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has denied claims that the United States intends to deport Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Ghana.
His response follows media reports alleging that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had notified Abrego Garcia’s lawyers of plans to deport him to Ghana.
Court documents show that DHS previously explored deporting Abrego Garcia to Eswatini and Uganda after he was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March despite a 2019 court order prohibiting his removal to that country due to credible fears of persecution.
The Salvadoran, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was sent to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison under the Trump administration on allegations of being an MS-13 gang member, accusations his family and attorneys strongly reject.
He was returned to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, where he pleaded not guilty.
While awaiting trial in his brother’s custody, he was re-arrested by immigration authorities, reigniting deportation proceedings.
In a Facebook post on Friday, October 10, 2025, Minister Ablakwa firmly dismissed suggestions that Ghana was a possible destination.
“Ghana is not accepting Abrego Garcia. He cannot be deported to Ghana. This has been directly and unambiguously conveyed to U.S. authorities,” he stated.
The minister explained that although Ghana has, on humanitarian grounds, accepted a limited number of non-criminal West Africans, this policy does not apply to individuals from outside the subregion or to persons facing criminal allegations.
“In my discussions with U.S. officials, I made it clear that our humanitarian arrangement to receive a small number of non-criminal West Africans will not be extended,” he emphasised, describing the reports as “misleading and inaccurate.”
Attorneys representing Abrego Garcia are expected in court on Friday for an evidentiary hearing, where witnesses will testify about U.S. attempts to deport him to Eswatini or other countries.