Gyasi v. Scott

The ACLU of Virginia filed an emergency petition in federal court on behalf of Anabella Gyasi, a pregnant Ghanian who has been illegally detained at Dulles Airport without access to adequate food, hygiene, or medical care with her four-year old son for over a week.

Ms. Gyasi flew from Ghana to Dulles with her son, G.O.O., who was born with physical disabilities impacting the use of his hands. Ms. Gyasi made a May 30, 2026 appointment with Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio and secured tourist visas for herself and G.O.O. that expire in April 2028, but when Ms. Gyasi landed at Dulles on May 19, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) took her and her son into custody. She and G.O.O. have been locked in a windowless room in Dulles ever since.

Neither Ms. Gyasi nor G.O.O. were given medical screenings or treatment upon their detention, and on two occasions, Ms. Gyasi was transported to a nearby hospital after she experienced vaginal bleeding and lightheadedness. Staff at the hospital confirmed her pregnancy and high blood pressure, expressed concern that she was not eating enough in detention and was over-stressed, and discharged her back to Dulles, where CBP continues to hold Ms. Gyasi and her son in dangerous conditions.

Because of her concern for her unborn child, Ms. Gyasi told the officers she would prefer to be deported than denied food. She signed a deportation order – and then was told she could have whatever food she wanted, as well as a shower.

Following President Trump’s executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship, immigration attorneys and medical professionals describe seeing a “shocking number of detained postpartum and pregnant women” in immigration detention, as one attorney told The 19th on October 20, 2025.

The filing alleges that CBP’s actions violate Ms. Gyasi and her son’s Fifth Amendment constitutional rights as well as U.S. law., and calls on CBP to immediately release Ms. Gyasi and her son from custody so that they can seek necessary medical care, and stay their removal from the country until their case is heard.