{"id":110894,"date":"2026-01-13T04:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T04:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=110894"},"modified":"2026-01-13T04:11:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T04:11:00","slug":"this-is-not-a-typical-immigration-case-us-lawyer-on-ofori-atta-detention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=110894","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This is not a typical immigration case\u2019 \u2013 US lawyer on Ofori-Atta detention"},"content":{"rendered":"
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US immigration lawyer Jonelle Ocloo says the detention of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not a routine immigration matter.<\/p>\n

She cited his profile and the FBI\u2019s reported involvement.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Joy News\u2019 PM Express on Monday, Ms Ocloo said she was drawing on more than two decades of experience in US immigration law.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been a US immigration lawyer for over 20 years now, and I can speak to what is typically done for detained cases and deportation cases, but if I can say clearly, as the ambassador has stated, Mr Ofori-Atta\u2019s case is clearly not a typical one,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She explained that what sets the case apart is Mr Ofori-Atta\u2019s standing and the level of legal representation he has secured.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the fact that he\u2019s a high-profile personality, a former minister in the Ghanaian government,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ms Ocloo said comparisons with ordinary immigration detainees do not apply in this instance.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not your regular Ghanaian in detention,\u201d she said, adding that the nature of his legal team also signals that the case will be fiercely contested.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has really lawyered up. He is really lawyered up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see the lawyers that he\u2019s hired, you know former American AG, that is an indication of somebody who is not going easily,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Ms Ocloo referenced statistics suggesting that most detainees eventually face deportation, but said those figures rarely apply to cases of this nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you mentioned the statistic about 99% of the people who go into detention end up deported, trust me, less than you know 00, point whatever per cent have a former American AG as their lawyer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said the reported involvement of the Federal Bureau of Investigation further distinguishes the case from routine immigration matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does,\u201d she said when asked if FBI involvement changes anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, it\u2019s an indication that this isn\u2019t simply about a visa overstay,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Ms Ocloo said ordinary overstays usually do not attract that level of federal attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it was just a visa overstay, you know this visa revocation overstay, I dealt with a number of cases with, say, international students, maybe who had their student visa revoked, that sort of thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said the FBI\u2019s role points to a more complex legal context.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut no, I feel that the fact that the FBI was involved is an indication of what was said previously, that this had to do with the extradition request, okay, and that that is why the FBI is involved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mr Ofori-Atta\u2019s legal team has confirmed that he is currently in ICE custody and cooperating with US authorities.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the lawyers said the former finance minister has a pending petition for adjustment of status, a legal process that allows an individual to remain in the United States beyond the validity of an initial visa.<\/p>\n

They said efforts are ongoing to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"TheUS immigration lawyer Jonelle Ocloo says the detention of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not a routine immigration matter.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1966,15049,15264,1448,1883,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hp-news-6","category-ice-detention","category-jonelle-ocloo","category-ken-ofori-atta","category-national","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110894\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}