Elvis Darko explores potential causes of Ghana's inclusion in US travel ban

Elvis Darko, the Editor of Newscenta newspaper, has offered insights into the possible underlying infractions leading to Ghana's recent inclusion in US travel ban.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on June 16, 2025, Darko presented two main hypotheses: challenges with immigrant repatriation and the inadvertent involvement of Ghanaians in anti-Semitic actions.

Darko elaborated on the first scenario, explaining that when immigrants are arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the US, their home countries are expected to facilitate the processing of travel documents for their deportation.

He referenced reports from earlier this year indicating over 3,000 immigrants were traced to Ghana, suggesting that a lack of timely cooperation from the Ghanaian embassy in issuing passports or travel certificates for these individuals, could have been a key factor.

"According to the UN convention, a country cannot deport a person without a passport or travel document," Darko emphasised.

He further highlighted the complexities arising from individuals who might have illegally acquired Ghanaian passports, making accountability difficult.

"Ideally, a country should make it difficult for miscreants to acquire passports illegally. So, in the records of the USA, they can only point back to Ghana as their country of destination. Inability to produce documents for them presents the country as being uncooperative, hence could lead to the ban," he explained.

The second potential cause, according to Darko, revolves around the unwitting participation of Ghanaian students in campus protests that are interpreted as anti-Semitic.

He cautioned that while students may not be aware, such acts can be seen as attempts to sow social unrest and destabilise the US.

"Most students do not know the subtle undertones that go with participation in certain protests on their campus. So, after their participation, they are listed as being anti-Semitic on the blind side," he warned.

While acknowledging that other factors could contribute to a country being placed on the US ban list, Darko concluded that these two specific issues are, in his estimation, the most probable reasons for Ghana's current predicament.

MRA/VPO

You can also watch the latest Twi news on GhanaWeb TV below: