ICE slams ‘60 Minutes’ over report on deported father sent to unsafe country

WASHINGTON, DC: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has pushed back against a '60 Minutes' investigation into the deportation of a Texas father who was sent to Ghana before allegedly being transferred to Mali, accusing the CBS program of leaving out key details about his immigration case.

The agency’s response, posted on X (formerly Twitter) and reshared by the White House, disputed the report’s portrayal of Moussa Diawara, a Malian national who lived in the United States for over two decades and has two US citizen children.

ICE challenges CBS account of deported father’s case

The dispute followed a '60 Minutes' report published Sunday, October 25, that examined the Trump administration’s use of third-country deportations. The investigation said Diawara, 57, had lived in the US for nearly half his life before ICE deported him to Ghana on July 31.

According to CBS, a US immigration judge ruled in 2012 that Diawara could not be deported to Mali because he was likely to face persecution there. The ruling, known as withholding of removal, did not prevent the government from seeking to remove him to a safe third country.

Diawara told the outlet that Ghanaian officials detained him and other deportees before he was taken to Mali against his will. He said he later escaped to another country with help from local truckers and was hiding there because he feared for his safety.

ICE challenged the report’s framing of his case, emphasizing that Diawara had a final order of removal. The agency also alleged that he claimed to be homosexual to avoid deportation despite having a wife and two children. The agency’s post questioned why the program had not asked him about that allegation.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security previously told '60 Minutes' that Ghana had provided diplomatic assurances concerning Diawara’s safety. The agency also questioned the credibility of his claims that he feared persecution in Mali.

DHS disputes allegations about treatment of deportees

During the interview, DHS general counsel James Percival said he was not aware of cases in which Ghana had sent deportees to other countries against their will. He argued that some people might voluntarily return to their home countries, while others could be returned through procedures carried out by foreign governments.

The report also said a federal appeals court had upheld a ruling in a class-action lawsuit finding the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy unlawful because it denied deportees due process. The Supreme Court had allowed the deportations to continue while it considered the case, with a hearing expected in December, according to the outlet.

Diawara’s attorney, Reuben S Kerben, has asked a federal judge in Washington, DC, to order his return to the US.

Diawara’s wife, Barbara, a registered nurse, and their two children remain in Texas. Their son Corey, 16, said that the family home feels empty without his father. Barbara said she was trying to remain strong for the children while waiting for her husband’s case to be resolved.