The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has begun a sweeping nationwide operation targeting undocumented migrants, starting with Accra as the epicentre of the enforcement effort.
The operation, which began at dawn on Friday, 16 May 2025, forms part of a broader initiative by the GIS to enforce immigration laws and address concerns related to national security and public sanitation.
According to officials, over 2,200 foreign nationals—comprising men, women, and children—were rounded up during the first phase of the exercise across 11 key locations in the capital. Those apprehended are believed to have entered Ghana illegally, with many reportedly engaged in street begging.
Providing a breakdown of the arrests, Head of Public Affairs for GIS, Superintendent Michael Amoako-Atta, disclosed that 384 adult males, 525 adult females, 577 male children, and 755 female children were detained.
“Buses are being arranged to repatriate the individuals to their countries of origin after a thorough profiling process,” Amoako-Atta told journalists at a press briefing.
He said the exercise is aimed at removing street beggars from Accra in response to increasing security and sanitation concerns. Authorities believe many of the individuals entered Ghana from neighbouring countries and have since been living in precarious conditions.
While the GIS insists the operation is necessary for maintaining order, some of the detained migrants claim they fled hardship, violence, and instability back home and had no choice but to come to Ghana in search of food and safety.
“We’re not here to cause trouble,” one migrant said while in detention. “Our families were killed, and we left everything behind. We came here to survive—nothing more.”
The public has expressed mixed feelings about the clampdown. Some residents support the operation, arguing that the growing number of street beggars in Accra undermines the city’s image and poses security risks.
“There are many ways to survive,” a local commented. “Even Ghanaian women sell water on the streets. Begging shouldn’t be an option.”
Others expressed sympathy for the migrants’ plight, suggesting they may lack the opportunities or legal status needed to work.
“If they had options, they wouldn’t be begging. No one chooses this life willingly,” said another resident.
The Ghana Immigration Service says the Accra operation is only the beginning. Similar enforcement exercises are expected to roll out in other major cities in the coming weeks as part of a phased national strategy to regulate the presence of foreign nationals and enforce immigration laws.
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