Fourteen West African nationals have arrived in Ghana following their deportation from the USA, President Mahama has announced.

This is in line with a bilateral agreement between the two countries, where Ghana was approached by the US in accordance with their Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which allows the U.S. to remove individuals who violate immigration laws, such as overstaying visas or entering illegally. Consequently, the Donald Trump administration made a diplomatic arrangement with various countries, including Ghana, to accept deportees who were not their own nationals.

Ghana agreed, but only to receive West African nationals, because, under ECOWAS rules, citizens of member states can enter and stay in Ghana for up to 90 days without a visa.

Speaking at the Presidential Media Encounter at Jubilee House on Wednesday, President Mahama stated that the initial batch consisted of 14 individuals, mostly Nigerians, along with one Gambian national.

“We were approached by the US to accept third-country nationals who were being removed, and we agreed that West African nationals could be accommodated, since all our fellow West Africans do not require a visa to enter Ghana. So, if they travel from the US to Accra, entry is not an issue. Bringing our West African colleagues back is therefore acceptable,” President Mahama explained.

The President continued that, so far, the majority of the deportees, particularly the Nigerians, have been taken back to their home countries by bus, with the Gambian national whose country officials have been informed of his presence.

“We facilitated the return of the Nigerian deportees to their home country by providing bus transportation. The Gambian national’s case, however, required further coordination with the Gambian Embassy to secure an air ticket for his repatriation.”

President Mahama emphasised that Ghana’s participation in the deportation arrangement is consistent with the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement, which allows citizens of member states to enter and reside in other West African countries without a visa for up to 90 days.

“West Africa has a protocol for free movement, and any West African is free to come to Ghana and stay for up to 90 days. Therefore, if our colleagues are being returned, we don’t have a problem accepting them,” he added.

Among the West African Protocols is also the right of residence, which allows citizens to stay in another member state if they obtain an ECOWAS residence permit or card, and another right is the right of establishment, which allows citizens to set up businesses or engage in economic activities in other member states.

A report by The Washington Post reveals that the Trump administration is considering extending its restriction on entry to citizens of some 36 countries.

The African-dominated list in the State Department memo reviewed by The Washington Post includes Ghana, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, and Gambia.

The others are the Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The report revealed that the US State Department has new benchmarks and requirements that it would want the governments of these countries to meet within 60 days.

"It set a deadline of 8 a.m. Wednesday for them to provide an initial action plan for meeting the requirements," the Washington Post further revealed.

The memo is said to have indicated that some of these countries have “no competent or cooperative central government authority to produce reliable identity documents or other civil documents,” and were engaged in “widespread government fraud.”

The memo also bemoaned the number of foreign citizens who had overstayed their visas.

A report from the US government revealed that Ghana's visa compliance has worsened.

About 1,910 individuals out of a total of 25,454 who were issued B1/B2 visas overstayed. 537 out of 2,559 student and exchange visitor visa holders remained in the US unlawfully.

"Other reasons included the availability of citizenship by monetary investment without a requirement of residency and claims of “antisemitic and anti-American activity in the United States” by people from those countries. The memo also stated that if a country was willing to accept third-country nationals who were removed from the United States or enter a “safe third country” agreement, it could mitigate other concerns," the Washington Post revealed.

It is unknown when the proposed travel restrictions would be enforced should the demands not be met.

In early June the United States restricted the entry of individuals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The United States has also partially restricted the entry of travellers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.