The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has firmly rejected reports suggesting that the United States plans to deport a Salvadoran national, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, to Ghana.
This follows widespread media reports indicating that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had notified Abrego Garcia’s attorneys of its intention to deport him to Ghana.
According to U.S. court filings, DHS had previously considered deporting Abrego Garcia to Eswatini and Uganda after he was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and later returned to the United States.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison—despite a 2019 court order barring his removal to that country due to credible fears of persecution.
The deportation, carried out under the Trump administration, was justified on allegations that he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13—claims his family and lawyers have consistently denied.
He was returned to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, to which he has pleaded not guilty. After being released into his brother’s custody in Maryland pending trial, Abrego Garcia was re-arrested by immigration authorities, who again initiated deportation proceedings.
An immigration judge recently denied a motion by his attorneys to reopen his case, paving the way for renewed deportation efforts.
However, in a Facebook post on Friday, October 10, 2025, Minister Ablakwa categorically dismissed suggestions that Ghana would accept Abrego Garcia, stressing that his country has no connection to the case.
“Ghana is not accepting Abrego Garcia. He cannot be deported to Ghana,” the minister stated. “This has been directly and unambiguously conveyed to U.S. authorities.”
Mr. Ablakwa clarified that while Ghana has, on humanitarian grounds, agreed to receive a limited number of non-criminal West Africans, this arrangement does not—and will not—extend to individuals from other regions or those facing criminal allegations.
“In my interactions with U.S. officials, I made clear that our understanding to accept a limited number of non-criminal West Africans, purely on the grounds of African solidarity and humanitarian principles, would not be expanded,” he noted.
He further condemned reports linking Ghana to the controversial deportation plan, calling them “misleading and inaccurate.”
“Ghana strongly objects to these misleading media reports,” the minister emphasized.
Attorneys representing Abrego Garcia are expected to appear in court for an evidentiary hearing on Friday, where government witnesses are scheduled to testify about attempts to deport him to Eswatini or other countries.
US Department of Homeland Security now plans to deport Abrego Garcia to Ghana
