Attorneys for a group of migrants deported from the U.S., who are now being held in Ghana, fear their clients could soon be sent to their home countries, despite having fear-based protections against being returned home, the attorneys said during an emergency hearing Saturday afternoon.
At least one plaintiff has already been moved to his home country of Gambia where he is now in hiding because of his sexual orientation, according to a lawsuit filed by the plaintiffs on Friday.
Attorneys on Saturday told a federal judge that some of the migrants have been visited by representatives from their home countries and said they fear some will be removed from Ghana as soon as Monday.
Following the hearing, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the Trump administration to describe its efforts to keep migrants, who are being held in the West African nation, from being deported to their home countries if they fear persecution or torture.
During the hearing, lawyers for the government had argued that the U.S. does not have the power to tell the Ghanaian government what to do, despite Ghana giving assurances that they would comply with restrictions barring the migrants from being sent to their home countries.
Chutkan seemed skeptical about the government’s position saying, “the lack of that power appears to be design. Because what this appears to be is an end-run around the United States’ obligation … You send them Ghana, and you say, ‘But, oh, Ghana says they’re not going to send them home’ and Ghana immediately prepares to send them home with what appears to be your full awareness.”
Chutkan also said to the government attorney, “This flies in the face of your representation to me that the government received assurances from the Ghanaian government that they wouldn’t do exactly what they’re doing.”
The government attorney agreed that Ghana seemed to not be following the assurances they had given to the U.S. government, but added again that “the United States does not have the ability to tell Ghana what to do with these individuals.”
The government attorney also said that while it’s “a frustrating situation,” the court did not have standing to tell the government how to conduct foreign diplomacy.
The judge questioned if the case could be wrapped into another case being heard in the Massachusetts District Court that deals with the issue of deportations to third countries, where the person is not originally from.
The lawyer for the migrants argued that the court could order the government to facilitate the return to the U.S. of these individuals or at least ask Ghana to not move them on to their home countries. The lawyer pointed to the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia who was able to be returned from El Salvador, and the Supreme Court had ruled the court could order the government to “facilitate” his return.
The lawyer also urged that time was of the essence, as some of the individuals could be moved as soon as Monday.
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