Ghana’s former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has been described by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as an illegal alien.
According to an ICE spokesperson, Ken Ofori-Atta is facing corruption and corruption-related charges in his home country.
ICE detailed that Ken Ofori-Atta entered the United States on May 28, 2025, on a visitor’s visa with an expiration date of November 27, 2025.
The ICE spokesperson responding to Tv3’s Joseph Ackah-Blay is quoted to have said, “Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta is an illegal alien from Ghana who is facing corruption and corruption-related charges in his home country. He entered the United States on May 28, 2025, on a visitor’s visa with an expiration date of November 27, 2025. Ofori-Atta overstayed his permitted admission”.
“He has been issued a notice to appear and will remain in ICE custody. He will be given due process before a Justice Department immigration judge,” the spokesperson said.
“The Trump administration has been abundantly clear: aliens must respect our laws or face the consequences. Overstaying a visa is an immigration law violation that can result in deportation,” he added.
In related news, Victor Smith, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United States, has revealed that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta was medically fit to be detained.
According to Victor Smith, ICE had medical personnel assess Mr Ofori-Atta to show that he was fit to be detained.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express, Ghana’s US Envoy explained, “Yes, the ICE people confirm that he was all right. Initially, they had medical people to determine whether he was fit to be held in the detention centre, and they were convinced and were assured that he was okay”.
“He was on medication, but he wasn’t seeing any doctor at the time, and he had his medication, so he could be put in the detention centre. They had caused him to be assessed by the medical personnel, not themselves,” he said.
“If he had any serious medical conditions, maybe they would have referred him to a medical facility outside the detention centre,” he added.
Victor Smith further revealed that the Ghana embassy made efforts to see Ofori-Atta, but he refused to see them.
He detailed, “I discussed it with the consular officers of my embassy, and we decided to make a request to make sure that he was being treated properly, as per international protocols,” he said.
“Just before we set out, the ICE agents came again and said the detainee had refused to meet with us without his lawyers. After about a few hours, they came back to us to say the detainee, being the ex minister, had refused now to see us under any circumstances,” he said.
“The ICE agents came here. The representative came to my office,” he said.
“We’re a bit of a disappointment, because I know Ken personally. He may not be my friend, but I know him personally,” he said.
“Being a Ghanaian and being our responsibility, so to speak, in a host country, I felt that if we had had the opportunity to at least hear about, if he had some concerns for us, to probably try and assist. So shutting the door in our face and not wanting to see us under any circumstances was a bit unfortunate,” he said.