Pregnant woman forced to sign deportation papers after being held at US airport for days

A pregnant woman from Ghana and her young son have been held at Washington Dulles International Airport for more than a week, according to lawyers who say the pair have been kept in a windowless detention room despite serious health concerns.38-year-old Annabella Gyasi arrived at Dulles Airport last Tuesday with her four-year-old son after travelling from Ghana for a medical appointment in Ohio. According to an emergency court petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia, the boy was born with malformed hands and was due to be assessed at Akron Children’s Hospital on May 30 to determine whether he was now old enough for surgery.Instead of boarding their connecting flight, Gyasi and her son were detained by US Customs and Border Protection officials.The pair had previously travelled to US in 2024 seeking treatment for the child but later returned to Ghana after doctors advised that he was still too young for surgery.Gyasi is more than four months pregnant and told immigration officials she feared returning to Ghana because of persecution she and her son had faced. Her lawyers say that statement led to her detention.“Ms. Gyasi legally traveled to the US to get necessary medical care for her son, but the illegal detention and inhumane treatment that she’s experiencing at Dulles is endangering her son’s health as well as her own,” Sophia Gregg, senior immigrants’ rights attorney at the ACLU of Virginia, said in a statement.The legal filing alleges that Gyasi has been hospitalised twice since arriving in US due to pregnancy-related complications, including vaginal bleeding and light-headedness. Despite receiving treatment, she was returned to the airport detention facility after both hospital visits. Doctors raised concerns that she was not eating enough and was experiencing stress while in detention. They also allege that repeated requests for additional food for both mother and child were denied.According to the ACLU, Gyasi eventually agreed to sign deportation paperwork because she feared for the health of her unborn baby and believed it was the only way to secure adequate food. Her legal team later informed authorities that the decision had been made out of desperation.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has rejected allegations of mistreatment.“These allegations are false,” the department said in a statement.They added: “Everyone in CBP custody, including this individual, has access to appropriate care, including medical evaluation by a doctor, medication, and food.”Immigration officials argued that Gyasi could not use a tourist visa to enter the country because she had stated under oath that she intended to seek asylum and did not plan to return to Ghana.