A pregnant woman from Ghana and her 4-year-old son who spent more than a week in a windowless detention room at Washington Dulles International Airport are flying back to Africa, her lawyers said Friday.
Annabella Gyasi, 38, arrived May 19 at Dulles Airport ahead of a medical appointment for her son, who was born with severely malformed hands. Both were traveling on valid visas. But they were detained by immigration officers at Dulles after Gyasi said they had faced persecution in Ghana and feared returning.
The detention at Dulles Airport lasted more than a week. Gyasi was hospitalized twice for pregnancy complications, including vaginal bleeding and high blood pressure. After days in the windowless room at Dulles, she felt she had no choice but to agree to leave the United States.
The Judge’s Intervention
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema, sitting in Alexandria, Virginia, issued an order Friday saying that “the welfare of the petitioners and the interests of justice are best served by allowing petitioners to return home immediately.”
An earlier order from Brinkema quoted immigration officials as saying Gyasi’s tourist visas were not valid because she had told them that she came to the US to seek asylum and did not plan to return home.
Gyasi and her son were expected to leave Dulles Airport for Ghana on Friday evening.
The Conditions at Dulles
The family had been held in a windowless room at Dulles Airport with a single bed and toilet. Gyasi repeatedly told guards that she and her son were hungry but were not given additional food, according to her lawyers. Her son cried from hunger pains.
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.”
ACLU Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer said in a statement: “While we’re relieved that Ms. Gyasi and her son will soon be free from this nightmare, no one should be subjected to the inhumane conditions they endured at Dulles Airport.”
The Bottom Line
A pregnant Ghanaian woman and her 4-year-old son were detained at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia for more than a week after arriving on valid visas. A federal judge ordered them released and deported. They flew home to Ghana on Friday evening. The family’s lawyers described their detention in a windowless room at Dulles as inhumane. The government denies any mistreatment.
