Ugamatv
A United States federal judge has sharply criticised the Trump administration for deporting Nigerian and Gambian migrants to Ghana, warning that the move may expose them to torture or persecution if they are eventually returned to their home countries.
District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, sitting in Washington, D.C., raised the concerns on Saturday after lawyers for some of the migrants argued that the deportation plan was a violation of U.S. immigration laws.
Chutkan described the arrangement as an “end run” around U.S. immigration law, which prohibits deportations that could place migrants in harm’s way.
“I have not been shy about saying that I think this is a very suspicious scheme,” The New York Times quoted her as saying, adding that the Trump administration appeared to have intentionally bypassed immigration rules.
She ordered the U.S. government to provide a sworn statement outlining the safeguards in place to prevent Ghana from sending the migrants back to Nigeria or Gambia.
However, the judge declined to grant the migrants immediate relief, explaining:
“There’s no point in getting decisions from me that are immediately going to be stayed” by the Supreme Court.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday by five migrants, claimed they were shackled and transported on a U.S. military plane from a detention centre in Louisiana without being told their destination.
Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the migrants argued they had legal protections against deportation to Nigeria and Gambia.
In its defence, the U.S. Department of Justice said it no longer had custody of the migrants and argued that the court lacked authority over diplomatic decisions, citing a Supreme Court ruling that permits deportations to countries other than a migrant’s home nation.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s President John Mahama confirmed that his country had reached a deal with the U.S. to accept deported West Africans, revealing that 14 migrants had already arrived in Ghana.
Chisom Orjiogbu
