Texas Pastor Samuel Nnamdi Deported to Ghana Under Trump's Third-Country Immigration Policy
- Texas-based pastor Samuel Nnamdi, who had no criminal record and five years of employment at UPS, was deported to Ghana by US immigration authorities in July 2026
- Nnamdi, a father of American children who had spent years living in Texas, was sent to Ghana under President Trump's expanded third-country deportation policy
- An MS NOW international correspondent interviewed Nnamdi at an undisclosed West African location, where he spoke about his ordeal on camera
PAY ATTENTION: Mark YEN.com.gh as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!
A Texas-based Nigerian pastor with no criminal record, American-born children, and nearly a decade of roots in the United States has been deported to Ghana — a country he had never set foot in — as part of the Trump administration's expanding use of third-country deportations.
Source: Getty Images
Pastor Samuel Nnamdi was filmed in an on-location interview by MS NOW International correspondent Ines de La Cuetara, who travelled to Ghana to document the growing number of migrants arriving under the controversial policy.
Nnamdi's case has drawn widespread attention online after footage of the interview began circulating on Instagram.
Pastor Nnamdi's life in Texas before deportation
According to Nnamdi, he had spent years living in Texas, where he worked for UPS for five years, raised his family, and served as a pastor.
He claimed that he held no criminal record and had court orders from US immigration judges that were meant to prevent his removal to his country of origin.
However, those protections contained a critical gap: they said nothing about sending him to a third country entirely.
"Technically there was nothing stopping officials from sending them to a different country. And that's the loophole the administration has been exploiting," the MS NOW correspondent explained during her stand-up segment.
Nnamdi described the disorientation of suddenly finding himself thousands of miles from everything he had built.
"The fact that I am far removed from my family – I cannot reconcile the fact. I kept saying, where is this? What is this?" he said.
He added:
"How do I start all over again when all the ties I have are in America, all the connections are built in America, my work is in America, my life is in America, and my family. Everything is there."
Ghana accepts deportees under US agreement
Ghana is among the countries that agreed to receive migrants deported under President Trump's expanded third-country deportation programme.
The policy allows US immigration authorities to send individuals to countries other than their nations of origin, even when court orders exist to prevent deportation to those specific countries.
The MSNOW report, which combines interview footage with archival visuals of deportees boarding a military aircraft, highlighted Nnamdi's case and the controversial policy.
His only expressed goal, he said, was to raise his children.
"All I wanted to do was to raise my children, to raise my family," he told the correspondent.
The Instagram video of Pastor Samuel Nnamdi speaking about his deportation to Ghana is below:
Reactions to pastor Samuel Nnamdi's US deportation
Social media users have responded with a mix of sympathy, practical suggestions, and outright disbelief.
YEN.com.gh has compiled some reactions from social media users below:
@funmionabam wrote:
"He is lucky. He got dropped in a nearby country to Nigeria."
@kenyetta_aka_meechie said:
"Well, they say Nigeria is nice. There are plenty of Christians there. It may be hard, but start a church there and bring your family."
@hanesroland commented:
"No criminal record. That part. No criminal record, working for UPS and having a family. This is the kind of person we should want in America. This makes no sense."
Kenyan pastor denies fathering businesswoman's third child
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported about Bishop Benson Kiengei’s response to rumours that he fathered Dama wa Spares’s third child, including his denial and appeal to protect the child’s dignity.
The claims were fuelled by images he said had been manipulated using AI to make the child resemble him.
His decision to speak out sparked a debate online, with some asking why he responded at all.
Don't miss out! Get your daily dose of sports news straight to your phone. Join YEN's Sports News channel on WhatsApp now!
Source: YEN.com.gh
