A pregnant Ghanaian woman and her young son who spent more than a week detained at Washington Dulles airport were deported to Ghana on Friday after a federal judge intervened.
Annabella Gyasi, 38, arrived at the airport on 19 May with her son, who was born with severely malformed hands, ahead of a medical appointment in the United States, according to a petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia. Both were travelling on valid visas.
Her lawyers said Gyasi told immigration officials she feared persecution if returned to Ghana and sought protection, after which the pair were detained. Officials nullified her tourist visa and processed her for removal, citing her stated intention to seek asylum rather than return home.
The ACLU said the mother and child were held in a windowless room for more than a week, and that Gyasi was hospitalised twice for pregnancy complications, including vaginal bleeding and high blood pressure. She ultimately agreed to leave after concluding she had no alternative, her lawyers said. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rejected the allegations of mistreatment, saying people in custody have access to medical care, medication and food.
United States District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled on Friday that the welfare of the petitioners and the interests of justice were best served by allowing them to return home immediately, and ordered that Gyasi be released from the airport that day. “She cannot spend tonight at Dulles,” she said at the hearing in Alexandria, Virginia.
Gyasi and her son were scheduled to depart for Ghana on Friday evening.
