CBP Detains Pregnant Ghanaian Woman And Her 4-Year-Old Son At Dulles For Over A Week

Annabella Gyasi, 38, a pregnant woman from Ghana, and her 4-year-old son were detained for more than a week in a windowless detention room at Washington Dulles International Airport after arriving on tourist visas ahead of a May 30 appointment in Akron, Ohio, at Akron Children’s Hospital, according to lawyers and court filings cited by NBC4 Washington.

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

Associated Press

NBC4 Washington said the pair had come to the U.S. in 2024 for medical care, but returned to Ghana after being told the boy was still too young for surgery, and this time they booked a connecting flight for the Akron appointment.

Associated Press

The NBC4 Washington report said Gyasi feared returning to Ghana because of persecution they had both faced, and that U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained them after she said she feared deportation.

NBC4 Washington also reported that Gyasi was hospitalized twice for pregnancy complications, including vaginal bleeding and lightheadedness, and that in one visit doctors “expressed concern that she was not eating enough in detention and was over-stressed,” the legal group said in a statement.

The Department of Homeland Security denied mistreatment, saying, “Everyone in CBP custody, including this individual, has access to appropriate care, including medical evaluation by a doctor, medication, and food.”

Hours before the flight home, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ordered Gyasi and her son to return immediately, stating, “the welfare of the petitioners and the interests of justice are best served by allowing petitioners to return home immediately,” according to CNN.

CNN reported that Brinkema told the U.S. government Friday that Gyasi “must be released from the hold room at the airport before the end of the day,” and said, “She cannot spend tonight at Dulles.”

CNN

CNN said Gyasi’s attorneys argued she had been held illegally, while the government argued her tourist visa was not valid because Gyasi “admitted under oath … her intent was not to leave the United States to return to Ghana.”

After an immigration judge denied her asylum request on Wednesday, CNN reported that her legal team said its main concern was her well-being after what turned into an indefinite layover in the hold room.

CNN quoted Mary Bauer, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, saying, “human beings should not be detained under the conditions our client was being detained at Dulles Airport in a windowless room without access to appropriate food or medical care.”

The Associated Press reported that Gyasi and her son were ordered deported and were flying back to Africa after spending more than a week in a windowless detention room at a Washington airport, with the order coming from U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema.

“A pregnant woman from Ghana who entered the U”

NBC4 Washington

AP said Gyasi arrived May 19 at Washington Dulles International Airport ahead of a medical appointment for her son, who was born with severely malformed hands, and that both were traveling on valid visas before being detained after Gyasi said they faced persecution in Ghana and feared returning.

AP reported that 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., and it quoted Mary Bauer saying, “no one should be subjected to the inhumane conditions they endured.”

AP also reported that the Department of Homeland Security denied the allegations, saying everyone in custody “has access to appropriate care, including medical evaluation by a doctor, medication, and food.”

NBC4 Washington said Gyasi told CBP officers she would rather be deported than not have enough food, and it reported that she was provided food once she signed a deportation order, while an order from Brinkema quoted immigration officials saying Gyasi could not use the tourist visas to enter the U.S. and was being processed for expedited removal.