Ghanaian mother and child who arrived in US on valid visas to fly home after detainment, lawyers say

A pregnant woman from Ghana and her young son who spent more than a week in a windowless detention room at a Washington airport have been ordered deported and are flying back to Africa, her lawyers said Friday.

Annabella Gyasi, 38, arrived May 19 at Washington Dulles International Airport ahead of a medical appointment for her son, who was born with severely malformed hands, according to a petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.

Both were traveling on valid visas, but they were detained by immigration officers after Gyasi said they had faced persecution in Ghana and feared returning, the lawyers said.

After days in detention and two hospitalizations for pregnancy complications, including vaginal bleeding and high blood pressure, Gyasi felt she had no choice but to agree to leave the U.S., they said.

“While we’re relieved that Ms. Gyasi and her son will soon be free from this nightmare, no one should be subjected to the inhumane conditions they endured,” ACLU Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer said in a statement.

Gyasi had repeatedly told guards that she and her son were hungry but were not given additional food, according to her lawyers. The Department of Homeland Security denied that, saying everyone in custody “has access to appropriate care, including medical evaluation by a doctor, medication, and food.”

A Friday order by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said that “the welfare of the petitioners and the interests of justice are best served by allowing petitioners to return home immediately.”

An earlier order from Brinkema quoted immigration officials as saying Gyasi’s tourist visas were not valid because she had told them that she came to the U.S. to seek asylum and didn’t plan to return home.

Gyasi and her son were expected to leave for Ghana on Friday evening.