'US ICE is disabled from deporting him' – Ofori-Atta's lawyer claims

Frank Davies, one of the lawyers of embattled former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta, has asserted that his client, who has been detained by US immigration authorities, would not be deported back to Ghana.

According to him, assertions that his client was detained by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because he is an illegal immigrant are completely false.

Speaking in an interview on Metro TV on January 12, 2026, Davies suggested that the US immigration authorities have no grounds to deport Ofori-Atta because his stay in the US is legal and he has only filed an application to “vary” his “status”.

“Let me put it all out there, and those who are muddying the waters and saying all kinds of things when they have little or no knowledge at all should wait and be educated. There are proceedings in court, ostensibly for a deportation order, on the back of the fact that ICE are suggesting that Kenneth Nana Yaw Kontunkunu Ofori-Atta is an illegal immigrant, but he is not an illegal immigrant because Ken has put in a petition through his lawyers for an adjustment of his immigration status.

“At the time that ICE picked him, they had no knowledge of that petition, and even if they had prior knowledge, I must say, he was limited, so they were treating him as an illegal immigrant. But he had filed the petition for an extension of his stay and to continue to remain in the United States. Until that process is determined and dealt with by a court of competent jurisdiction in the USA, ICE are disabled from deporting Ken into the country,” he said.

The 0.6% chance of Ofori-Atta remaining in the US amid detention – US immigration lawyer details

The lawyer also stated that his client's appearance in court, which is scheduled for January 20, 2026, is merely an administrative process on his application to vary his stay in the US.

“What is going to happen on the 20th of January is called a notice to appear. The Attorney General's office and all other lawyers who take commentary on this matter should be cognisant of what happens then. It is purely an administrative immigration process. It has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with extradition proceedings,” he explained.

Watch the interview below:

ICE is disabled from deporting him until... - Ofori-Atta's lawyer, Frank Davies speaks on detention saga #GoodAfternoonGhana #MetroTV pic.twitter.com/LqVhHgeVua

— Metro TV Ghana (@metrotvgh) January 12, 2026