Overview

• Fourteen West Africans were flown by U.S. authorities to Ghana on Sept. 5 on a military cargo plane even though none are Ghanaian, according to court filings.
• The lawsuit filed in Washington on Sept. 12 by Asian Americans Advancing Justice says some passengers were put in “straitjackets,” shackled for 16 hours, given only bread and water, and not told their destination for hours.
• Plaintiffs say they have been held for days at Ghana’s Dema Camp in open‑air, squalid conditions under armed guard, with four facing imminent transfer to their home countries and one already sent to The Gambia and now in hiding.
• At an emergency hearing, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the administration appeared to make an “end run” around legal protections, while the Justice Department argued the court lacks authority because the migrants are no longer in U.S. custody and cited a Supreme Court stay allowing third‑country removals.
• The complaint contends the government is contravening immigration judges’ fear‑based rulings through opaque deals with receiving countries; Ghana’s president confirmed the 14 arrivals, opposition lawmakers criticized the agreement, and DHS and ICE did not immediately comment.