US judge queries deportation of Nigerians, Gambians to Ghana

Deportees

A US federal judge has criticised the Donald Trump administration over the deportation of Nigerian and Gambian migrants to Ghana.

Tanya Chutkan, a judge of the district court in Washington DC, spoke on Saturday after lawyers representing some of the migrants raised concerns that their clients risked torture or persecution if sent back to their home countries.Chutkan ordered the US government to submit a sworn statement on the mechanisms in place to avert the deportation of the migrants to their home countries by Ghana.

The judge said the deal looked like an “end run” around US legal requirements prohibiting deportations that could expose migrants to harm.

“I have not been shy about saying that I think this is a very suspicious scheme,” The New York Times quoted her as saying.

Chutkan said the Trump administration appeared to have deliberately bypassed immigration laws when the migrants were deported. Thecable