BUFFALO, NY, – Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights today celebrates the release of its client Mr. Awusi,* an LGBTQ+ person with mental disabilities who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for over 18 months after seeking safety in the United States. During this time, ICE and the immigration court failed to accommodate his disabilities, which a judge eventually ruled affected his capacity to proceed in immigration proceedings. After extensive advocacy by RFK Human Rights and its partners, Mr. Awusi was finally granted relief from removal, resulting in his release from the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility.

Mr. Awusi, is a 49-year-old gay man originally from Ghana, a country where consensual sexual relationships between men are illegal. In 2016, after being attacked in Ghana, Mr. Awusi fled to the United States and sought asylum. His claims were ultimately denied and he was deported  back to Ghana. In 2019, while in public with his male partner in Ghana, Mr. Awusi was beaten by members of an anti-gay group, leading to a weeks-long hospitalization and two months of outpatient therapy. Still receiving threats from the anti-gay group, Mr. Awusi fled the country again, returning to the United States in 2023. 

Upon his second attempt to seek protection in the United States, Mr. Awusi was thrown in ICE detention and denied access to legal and medical services in Twi, his best language. Without any way to understand or participate in his legal proceedings, Mr. Awusi was once again denied relief by an immigration judge, who ignored the clear signs of Mr. Awusi’s disabilities. 

Attorneys from RFK Human Rights met Mr. Awusi during a pre-scheduled “Know Your Rights” presentation at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility. After RFK Human Rights intervened and successfully appealed his case, Mr. Awusi finally received an opportunity to present his claims for humanitarian protection. This time the immigration judge recognized that Mr. Awusi’s disabilities directly impacted his ability to present information after RFK Human Rights and partners presented an expert medical evaluation that found Mr. Awusi had the mental capacity of a 6-year-old child. 

“As a person with mental competency issues, Mr. Awusi was entitled to due process protections to ensure that he had a fair opportunity to present his claims for protection,” said Sarah Decker, RFK Human Rights staff attorney. “Instead, he was detained for over 18 months in a remote ICE jail, denied language access, and ordered removed by an immigration judge who blatantly failed to identify his disability.”

“Mr. Awusi’s case is representative of how ICE detention subjects particularly vulnerable individuals to abusive conditions that often result in improper denials of protection under our country’s asylum laws,” said Sarah Gillman, Director of Strategic U.S. Litigation at RFK Human Rights. “Instead of subjecting mentally incompetent people to prolonged detention, ICE should release them to the care of their loved ones and community support networks.”

Mr. Awusi was granted a withholding of removal by an immigration judge, meaning he cannot be deported back to Ghana. He now lives safely with his sponsor in the United States. 

*Name changed to protect identity and privacy

About Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

We are a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that has worked to realize Robert F. Kennedy’s dream of a more just and peaceful world since 1968. In partnership with local activists, we advocate for key human rights issues—championing change makers and pursuing strategic litigation at home and around the world. And to ensure change that lasts, we foster a social-good approach to business and investment and educate millions of students about human rights and social justice.