A federal judge accused the Trump administration of attempting to sidestep court orders by transferring five African immigrants to Ghana, where officials appeared prepared to send them on to nations where they risked torture or death.
On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan pressed the government to explain how it was preventing Ghana from relocating the men in violation of American rulings. She gave the administration until 9 p.m. Eastern time to file a declaration outlining its safeguards.
The case intensified after one plaintiff was already moved from Ghana to his native Gambia, a country U.S. courts had previously ruled was off-limits for deportation. “This appears to be a specific plan to make an end run around these obligations,” Chutkan said. “What does the government intend to do? And please don’t tell me you don’t have any control over Ghana because I know that.”
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Lee Gelernt of the ACLU told the judge that the Gambia transfer echoed earlier missteps. He cited the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly sent to El Salvador in defiance of a court order. The government initially claimed it could not bring him back, but after repeated rulings directing officials to “facilitate” his return, Abrego Garcia was brought back to the United States. He is now contesting both human trafficking charges and a renewed deportation effort.
Justice Department attorney Elianis Perez, according to AP’s report, countered that the courts had no authority over how another country treats deportees. She reminded Chutkan that Ghana had pledged not to redirect the immigrants and pointed to a Supreme Court decision earlier this year allowing the administration to send people to third countries even if they had not raised claims of torture.
However, Chutkan expressed skepticism that the U.S. could not prevent what appeared to be deliberate maneuvering around judicial rulings.
