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More than 2,000 illegal immigrants from West African countries were arrested by immigration authorities in Ghana on May 16.
Most of them come from neighboring Burkina Faso and Togo, but also from Niger and Nigeria.
According to the Minister of the Interior, Muntaka Mubarak, this is in response to concerns about organized begging in the streets of the capital.
In particular, he cites a risk to national security.
He continues: “Most of these people don’t have decent housing in Ghana, they don’t have a livelihood, they don’t have an assistance system. So we have to hope that the Ghanaian government can provide them with the help they need. It would make no sense to send them back to their countries of origin, since the vast majority of these people are in fact refugees.”
But, David Asante Darko, analyst at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development and the West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network, warns:
“However, there is also a security aspect that comes into play. Because of the terrorist insurgency in the region, there is concern that the arrival of foreigners in Ghana on an irregular basis could increase the risk of terrorists infiltrating the country. The fear of terrorists slipping in among innocent refugees”.
It should be noted that those arrested underwent security checks and medical examinations.
