Ghana hit by US-imposed visa sanctions for non-cooperation in deportation of Ghanaians

General News of Friday, February 1, 2019

Source: citinewsroom.com

2019-02-01

The United States of America has imposed visa penalties on the Ghanaian authorities for their alleged lack of cooperation in the acceptance of Ghanaians expelled from the United States.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has ordered Ghana's embbady officials to enforce visa restrictions for certain categories of visa applicants, according to a statement by the US Department of Homeland Security.

The categories of applicants to be badigned are not detailed in the declaration.
"Under Section 243 (d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, informed the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. State, Mike Pompeo, that the Government of Ghana had unreasonably denied or unreasonably delayed the acceptance of their nationals. United States, "the statement said.

In addition, the statement warned that Ghana would face more sanctions if the government's position did not change.

"Without an appropriate response from Ghana, the scope of these sanctions could be extended to a wider population. The sanctions will remain in force until the US Secretary of Homeland Security notifies the Secretary of State Pompeo that the cooperation on removals has improved to an acceptable level. "

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen was quoted as saying: "Ghana has not respected its obligations under international law to accept the return of its expelled nationals from the United States."

"The United States regularly cooperates with foreign governments to document and accept US citizens when asked, as most countries in the world do, but Ghana has failed to do so in this case. We hope the Ghanaian government will work with us to quickly address these issues, "she added.

Context

According to indications received until 2017, 7,000 Ghanaians would be threatened with deportation.

The US ambbadador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson, said the 7,000 people were guilty of various immigration offenses and abused the terms of their visas.

At the time, he said that Ghanaians were at different stages of the deportation process.

The Government was also concerned by reports of ill-treatment of Ghanaians expelled by the United States Government.

Robert Jackson was invited by Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee to clarify reports of ill-treatment of expellees.

According to reports, a group of expelled in 2017 was reportedly handcuffed and forced to board the plane for Ghana, but the US Embbady denied any inhuman treatment.

Barfuor Adjei-Bawuah, Ghana's ambbadador to the United States, also hinted that he was under pressure from US authorities to punish the expulsion of Ghanaians.

These revelations occurred amid accusations that the United States was attempting to intimidate Ghana by threatening to restrict visas.

Robert Jackson countered that the United States was only trying to enforce its immigration rules and not threaten Ghana with visa restrictions.

He added that the United States simply wanted the government to expedite the process of issuing travel documents to Ghanaians who were to be deported.