Trump’s deportation push sends out Texas pastor to African country he’s never ever gone to

On a Sunday in late September, worshippers at a little church in Mesquite, Texas, wished the safe return of their precious pastor, Samuel Nnamdi.

“It’s been hard,” stated his 9-year-old American-born child in an interview with MS NOW. “In the middle of the day, when he calls us often and after that I begin to miss him.”

She and her 4 brother or sisters were separated from their 45-year-old daddy after he was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement representatives on his method to work for UPS on July 6, then consequently deported to Ghana, a nation he had actually never ever been to and has no ties to, as part of President Donald Trump’s broadened usage of so-called third-country deportations.

MS NOW consulted with Nnamdi at a concealed area in West Africa– which MS NOW is not exposing as Nnamdi fears retribution– where he is stuck in limbo.

” One of the discomforts I have actually seen in this life is kids not having their dad around,”he stated. “All I wished to do was to raise my kids, to raise my household.”

Nnamdi is among more than 25,000 individuals deported to 3rd nations throughout Trump’s 2nd term, according to Third Country Deportation Watch, a task tracking the Trump administration’s usage of third-country deportation. The effort has actually recorded deportations to nations with human rights abuses and security issues, consisting of Latin American migrants sent out to the Democratic Republic of Congo, migrants from Asia sent out to South Sudan and an Iranian pro-democracy activist sent out to the Central African Republic.

It is still uncertain what a number of the nations that have actually accepted accept U.S. deportees are getting in return. In a lot of cases, the regards to the plans have actually not been revealed.

The program, nevertheless, is currently costing U.S. taxpayers numerous countless dollars. A Washington Post examination discovered the administration has actually licensed or vowed a minimum of $410 million to assist in third-country deportation contracts with 31 nations, consisting of more than $81 million in direct payments to foreign federal governments.

In a declaration, a Department of Homeland Security representative informed MS NOW: “Illegal aliens being sent out to a 3rd nation get notification and guarantees prior to their elimination, and ICE is offered diplomatic guarantees from location nations that the unlawful aliens being eliminated there will be safe.”

Nnamdi, for his part, was not provided correct notification that he was being deported to Ghana, according to his legal representative, Julie Justice.

“It truly seemed like a dream. It’s something I want never ever occurred due to the fact that I might not fix up the reality that I am far gotten rid of from my household,” he stated. “I kept stating, ‘Where is this? What is this?'”

Countless miles from his kids, in an alien nation, Nnamdi has actually constructed a singular life around the Christian neighborhood that has actually taken him in. He sees his kids on video calls before they leave for school, and once again on weekends when they are home– a little however routine connection to the household he longs to be with.

The Trump administration has actually long mentioned it wants “the worst of the worst”in its heavy-handed migration crackdown. Nnamdi is a pastor, a dad of 5– 2 of his children being U.S. people– and has actually invested the previous 5 years working full-time, and lawfully, having actually been approved work permission, for UPS. He has no rap sheet.

Initially from Nigeria, he got here in the United States in 2018, looking for a safe house for his household after he stated shooters stormed his home and threatened to eliminate him if he continued preaching.

“Somebody will state,’But why America? ‘? Since America is that fantastic country that is accommodating to individuals,” he stated. “America is that terrific country that safeguards individuals. America is that fantastic country where a no one can end up to end up being someone of value. “

The growing persecution of Christians in Nigeria is a problem the Trump administration has actually consistently accentuated. In October 2025, the Trump administration designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over religious-freedom issues before performing strikes on Boko Haram and Islamic State targets on Christmas Day.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has actually independently pressed legislation focused on dealing with the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, however did not react to MS NOW’s duplicated ask for remark.

Nnamdi got in the U.S. on a traveler visa and, according to Justice, looked for asylum after getting here.

“I believe it’s essential simply to reveal that he has actually followed all of the actions. Individuals come here, and they do not constantly comprehend the law up until you understand they work with a lawyer to help them while doing so. Samuel has actually done whatever to follow the law and to abide by the law,” stated Justice.

In 2019, a U.S. migration judge ruled that Nnamdi might deal with serious risk if he were gone back to Nigeria, and approved him what is called “withholding of elimination,” which disallows the federal government from deporting him there.

The security came with a crucial restriction: It did not avoid the federal government from sending him to another nation.

On July 6, Nnamdi was detained on his method to work, while using his UPS uniform. The brown t-shirt and shorts, immediately identifiable to generations of Americans, were the only clothing he had when he was eventually deported to Ghana.

“This [UPS] guard is liked by everyone– the canines like us, the felines like us, the American individuals enjoy us. We are liked by everyone. Picture being cuffed and brought into the detention center [wearing this],” he stated.

A number of other deportees who were sent out to Ghana and who spoke with MS NOW from another location explained challenging conditions aboard the hourslong deportation flights– their hands and feet shackled, and in many cases denied of essential medication.

In a declaration, a DHS representative informed MS NOW,”On August 29, 2018, Nnamdi tried to go into the U.S. as a visitor at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He was jailed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and processed as a sped up elimination after confessing his objective of overstaying his legal admittance.”

Under U.S. asylum law, an individual should be physically present in the U.S. to request asylum.

In a declaration to MS NOW, a White House representative stated, “Third nation arrangements are assisting close among the loopholes in our migration system that has far frequently been abused with incorrect claims.”

“If an unlawful alien selects to sue in court declining to go to their home nation, they ought to not be amazed when we discover a safe and protected country for them to go to. If an unlawful alien selects to go home, we will provide a totally free flight home and a $3,000 check. The option is theirs,” the DHS representative included.

While DHS argues it is discovering “safe and safe countries” for deportees to go to, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a Ghanaian attorney who has actually represented deportees and has actually been associated with legal efforts to avoid third-country deportations, informed MS NOW a number of those sent out to Ghana are then required back to their native land, where lots of fear they might be eliminated or maltreated– a practice referred to as refoulement, forbidden under worldwide law.

Among those deportees was Rabbiatu Kuyateh, a 58-year-old nurse from Sierra Leone who was sent out from Maryland to Ghana before being by force gone back to the nation she had actually left.

Video, shot by other deportees and shown MS NOW, reveals Kuyateh being dragged through a hotel in Accra by Ghanaian authorities, and required back to her native Sierra Leone, where a U.S. judge had actually ruled her life would be at danger. She left Sierra Leone as quickly as she might and is now residing in concealing in a concealed area in Africa.

” They stated they’re taking me to Ghana. I stated,’Ghana, what am I going to do there?’I believed they informed me I was going home.”

Like Nnamdi, Kuyateh had actually been given withholding of elimination to her native Sierra Leone. She had actually invested more than 30 years working as a nurse in the U.S., even putting her own life on the line, working throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I made telephone call informing their enjoyed ones that this is completion. I made certain I waited them till they took their dying breath,” she stated. “I worked so hard, and I felt America didn’t pay me back like what I did to them. Particularly after I thought about that my 2nd home. I went there when I was extremely young. I wasn’t dealt with right.”

Other deportees informed MS NOW they were required to the Togo border upon arrival and discarded there without any files. Ghanaian authorities turn down claims of refoulement which the U.S. is utilizing Ghana to prevent its own courts.

“We do not participate in forced migration as a policy, and we do not do the grunt work of any nation, no matter their status, their size or their wealth. That should be put on record,” stated Felix Kwakye Ofosu, representative for the president of Ghana and minister of state in charge of interactions.

Ofosu confessed deportees can just remain in Ghana for 90 days, and “after that, they need to go back,” however stated those who can show going back to their native lands would put them at threat can make an application for refugee status in Ghana.

“If we have actually confirmed reports of abuses on the part of Ghanaian security authorities, we’ll check out them and take proper procedures. As far as I understand, the individuals who have actually been brought in have actually been dealt with humanely, and there is no main policy to maltreat them or breach their rights,” he stated, including that the federal government was examining the video including Kuyateh.

Ghana’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has actually acknowledged on regional tv that U.S. authorities raised the possibility of visa and tariff concessions in exchange for Ghana’s cooperation on migration. Weeks later on, Washington raised visa constraints on Ghana, bring back five-year multiple-entry visas for Ghanaians.

Through his faith, Nnamdi informed MS NOW he stays enthusiastic U.S. authorities will bring him back. Overnight, his better half was required to end up being the sole income producer of the home. The household has actually developed a GoFundMe page to assist keep them afloat.

He stays firm in his belief that his deportation was an error the president will eventually remedy.

“I think in the American dream. I think in the American individuals. I think that anybody who will hear this, they will be rooting for me. Will defend me,” he stated.