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ACCRA: The United States has reversed its visa restrictions on Ghana, its foreign minister said Friday, as the west African nation emerges as a key deportation hub in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Earlier this month, Ghanaian President John Mahama revealed that the country was accepting west Africans deported by the United States.
US President Donald Trump has made so-called “third-country” deportations a hallmark of his anti-immigration crackdown, sending people to countries where they have no ties or family.
Accra has insisted it has received nothing in return for taking in the deportees, though Mahama acknowledged that the deal was struck as relations were “tightening,” with Washington imposing tariffs as well as visa restrictions in recent months.
“The US visa restrictions imposed on Ghana” have been “reversed,” Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said.
In a post on X, Ablakwa said the “good news” was delivered by US officials on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The reversal was the result of “months of high-level diplomatic negotiations,” Ablakwa said.
In June, the United States announced restrictions on most visas for nationals from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria, restricting them to three months and a single entry.
“Ghanaians can now be eligible for five-year multiple entry visas and other enhanced consular privileges,” Ablakwa said.
At least 14 west Africans have been sent to Ghana since the beginning of September, though neither Accra nor Washington has made details of the arrangement public.
They all had won protection from US immigration courts against being deported to their home nations, their lawyers said, even as Ghana has forwarded on at least four to their country of origin, according to an AFP tally.
After weeks of detention in Ghana, allegedly under military guard and in poor conditions, eight to 10 of the deportees were abruptly sent to Togo last weekend and left to fend for themselves, US-based lawyer Meredyth Yoon told AFP.
Another plane able to carry 14 people has since arrived in Ghana, Yoon said, though it was unclear how many people were on it.
Ghana has said it is accepting west Africans on humanitarian grounds and that the deal is not an “endorsement” of US immigration policy.

ROME: A Sea-Watch migrant rescue ship came under fire from a Libyan patrol vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, the organization said on Friday, highlighting escalating threats during recent operations.
Sea-Watch, which comes to the aid of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean, said there were no injuries.
The volunteer organization said the attack happened overnight from Thursday to Friday, shortly after its ship, the Sea-Watch 5, had rescued 66 people.
“The so-called Libyan coast guard fired live ammunition,” it said in a statement on its website, demanding an immediate investigation and action from the European Union.
Sea-Watch said the Libyan Ubari 660 Corrubia Class patrol boat had ordered the crew via radio to turn north while the rescue operation was ongoing.
To do so would have meant aborting the rescue, it said.
“The militia then approached the ship and eventually fired live ammunition at it. The crew and those rescued were unharmed,” it added.
“After being fired upon, the crew of the Sea-Watch 5 sent out a Mayday relay and informed the relevant authorities and the German federal police.”
Sea-Watch said the number of attacks by Libyan “militia” has intensified in recent months.
On August 24, the rescue ship Ocean Viking, operated by SOS Mediterranee, was fired at. The NGO said “hundreds of bullets” were used and the attack happened after it had rescued 87 people in international waters.
Sea-Watch said the Libyan patrol boat was given to the Libyan coast guard in 2018 as part of a deal the previous year in which Rome and the EU provided financial, technical and material support to intercept migrants and return them to the north African country.
The organization’s spokeswoman, Giorgia Linardi, said the Libyan attacks were a “direct consequence” of European policies.
“It’s unacceptable that the Italian government and the EU allows criminal militia to fire on civilians,” she added.
Charities supporting migrants regularly criticize the situation in Libya, claiming that those seeking to leave are victims of discrimination, racism and violence.