World · North America · 9 hrs ago
Malian father deported from Texas says Ghana sent him back to Mali
Moussa Diawara, a Malian father living in Texas, was deported by the U.S. to Ghana on July 31.
A U.S. judge had ruled in 2012 that Diawara could not be sent to Mali because he was likely to face persecution there.
Diawara, who converted to Christianity, had lived in the United States for nearly half his life and has two U.S. citizen children.
Diawara says Ghanaian officials sent him to Mali within days of his arrival, after detaining him and others in a hotel.
He says he had no money or identification in Mali and later escaped with help from local truckers to an undisclosed country.
He says he feared for his safety in Mali, and asked that his current location remain secret.
The case highlights concerns about third-country deportations, as some countries receiving people deported by the U.S. have sent them back to places where U.S. judges found they could face persecution or torture.
Moussa Diawara, a Malian man deported from Texas to Ghana, says Ghanaian officials sent him to Mali within days.
A U.S. immigration judge ruled in 2012 that Diawara could not be deported to Mali because he was likely to face persecution there.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported him to Ghana on July 31, after he spent three weeks in detention in Texas.
Diawara said he had no ties to Ghana and was held there by armed guards without being allowed to make phone calls.
After he was left in Mali without money or identification, he hid there and later escaped to another country.
- Who
- Moussa Diawara, a Malian man who lived in the United States for nearly half his life.
- What
- He says Ghanaian officials sent him to Mali after the United States deported him to Ghana.
- When
- He was deported to Ghana on July 31, 2026. He says he was sent to Mali within days.
- Where
- From Texas to Ghana, then to Mali.
- Why
- A U.S. judge had ruled he could not be deported to Mali because he was likely to face persecution there. Diawara said he had converted to Christianity.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A U.S. immigration judge ruled Diawara could not be deported to Mali.
ICE agents waited for Diawara at his home near Houston as he finished a night shift.
The United States deported Diawara to Ghana after three weeks in ICE detention in Texas.
Diawara said local officials put him on a flight to Mali.
60 Minutes first contacted Diawara, who was homeless and hiding in Mali.
- Age
- 57
- U.S. arrival
- Came on a tourist visa at age 32
- U.S. judge's ruling
- 2012
- ICE detention in Texas
- Three weeks
- Deportation to Ghana
- July 31, 2026
- Children
- Two U.S. citizen children
What people are saying
I still say to myself, 'This isn't real,'
I cannot call my wife, I can't contact my lawyer. I can't talk to no one,
This is kidnapping. You guys kidnapped us.