Refusal To Accept Deported Ghanaians, US Slams Sanctions
The Oasis Reporters
February 3, 2019
The US Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will stop issuing visas to some citizens of Ghana, following the government’s refusal to take back citizens the US has tried to deport.
“Ghana has failed to live up to its obligations under international law to accept the return of its nationals ordered removed from the United States,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said.
“The United States routinely cooperates with foreign governments in documenting and accepting US citizens when asked, as appropriate, as do the majority of countries in the world, but Ghana has failed to do so in this case. We hope the Ghanaian government will work with us to reconcile these deficiencies quickly.”
Nielsen asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to sanction visas this week, and the top diplomat instructed US consular officers in Ghana to impose visa restrictions on certain categories of applicants, which the DHS statement did not specify.
Ghanaian nationals staying in foreign countries routinely send remittances back home that has been a bulwark to boost the economy of the West African nation.
