By: Kenneth Appiah Bani
Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has firmly rejected reports that the country will receive Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national whom the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to deport.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has publicly clarified Ghana’s position in a statement released on his Facebook page, stressing that the country will not accept the deportee.
“Ghana is not accepting Abrego Garcia.
He cannot be deported to Ghana.
This has been directly and unambiguously conveyed to U.S. authorities,” Ablakwa stated.
According to the MP, Ghana’s position was clearly communicated during his interactions with American officials. He explained that while Ghana had previously agreed to receive a limited number of non-criminal West Africans under humanitarian grounds and in the spirit of African solidarity, this arrangement does not and will not include individuals from Central America.
“In my interactions with U.S. officials, I made clear that our understanding to accept a limited number of non-criminal West Africans, purely on the grounds of African solidarity and humanitarian principles, would not be expanded,” Ablakwa emphasized.
He further described media reports suggesting that Ghana had agreed to take in Abrego Garcia as misleading and inaccurate, noting that Ghana strongly objects to any attempt to distort the facts.
The development follows a controversial decision by the DHS to deport Abrego Garcia a Salvadoran national who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children to Ghana, despite the absence of any legal or nationality ties to the country.
Abrego Garcia was earlier deported to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison in March, in defiance of a 2019 U.S. court order barring his removal due to fears of persecution. His family and attorneys have consistently denied allegations linking him to the MS-13 gang, describing the claims as politically motivated.
Ghana’s strong objection now adds an international diplomatic layer to the controversy, with many questioning the legality and morality of the U.S. government’s deportation plan.
It remains unclear how the U.S. will proceed following Ghana’s official rejection.
