Uncertainty surrounds location of 19 migrants deported to Ghana

Nineteen West African nationals deported from the United States to Ghana have been moved to undisclosed locations under armed guard, their lawyer revealed Thursday, raising alarms about the fate of migrants removed under the Trump administration's controversial third-country deportation program.

The group, which arrived in Ghana on November 5 and was initially housed in a hotel, has been completely unreachable since being transported in two separate movements.

Attorney Ana Dionne-Lanier reported that part of the group was bused to an unknown border location over the weekend, while her client and others were moved "under heavy armed guard" on Wednesday.

"We don't know the location of any of them," she stated, noting that families have lost all contact with the deportees who are protected from repatriation to their home countries due to risks of torture and persecution.

Controversial U.S. deportation program expands

The disappearances occur within the context of a largely secretive U.S. program that has sent dozens of deportees to at least five African nations since July, including Eswatini, Rwanda and South Sudan.

Human rights experts have widely criticized the initiative, questioning whether immigrants receive proper screening before deportation and citing violations of international protections for asylum-seekers.

The program represents the administration's effort to remove migrants who cannot easily be deported to their home countries due to court decisions.

Legal challenges mount against deportation agreements

Ghana's Democracy Hub rights group has filed a lawsuit alleging the agreement with Washington is unconstitutional because it bypassed parliamentary approval and may violate conventions prohibiting returns to countries where people face persecution.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice has argued in federal court that it has no control over how another country treats deportees, despite having obtained Ghana's pledge not to return them to their home countries, leaving the fate of the nineteen missing West Africans uncertain amid growing diplomatic and legal tensions.