‘Ghana is not accepting Abrego Garcia' – Ablakwa denies reports

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has denied reports claiming that Ghana will accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national reportedly facing deportation from the United States.

According to the Minister, Ghana has no plans to accept Abrego Garcia, stressing that the country’s agreement with the U.S. only permits the limited acceptance of non-criminal West Africans on humanitarian grounds.

His clarification follows reports by several international media outlets suggesting that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intended to deport Abrego Garcia to Ghana, as indicated in a notice sent to his legal representatives.

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In a social media post on Thursday, October 10, Mr Ablakwa reaffirmed that Ghana has officially communicated its refusal to accept the deportee. He wrote:

Ghana is not accepting Abrego Garcia. He cannot be deported to Ghana. This has been directly and unambiguously conveyed to U.S. authorities.

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He added that Ghana’s previous understanding with the U.S. to receive a small number of non-criminal West Africans on humanitarian grounds had not been broadened. He stated:

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. Ghana strongly objects to these misleading media reports.

Background: The Kilmar Abrego Garcia Case

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador who had been residing in Maryland with his wife and children, has become the centre of a complex immigration case that has drawn extensive legal and media attention in the U.S.

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In March 2025, Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison despite a 2019 court order preventing his deportation to that country over fears of persecution. The U.S. government, under the Trump administration, accused him of belonging to the criminal gang MS-13, allegations his family and lawyers have consistently denied.

Three months later, in June 2025, Abrego Garcia was brought back to the U.S. to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee. He pleaded not guilty and was released to the custody of his brother in Maryland while awaiting trial.

Immigration authorities later detained him again and explored plans to deport him to several countries, including Eswatini, Uganda, and Ghana. However, the DHS later clarified that the notice to deport him to Ghana was “premature” and instructed his attorneys to disregard the document.

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Mr Ablakwa’s firm clarification has now made it clear that Ghana is not among the countries being considered for Abrego Garcia’s deportation, effectively dispelling the earlier speculation.