Father Reported Son For Deportation: A Young Ghanaian Entrepreneur Surviving Abroad

By Maxwell Nkansah

A young Ghanaian man, Eric Watson narrated how his father connived to have him deported back to Ghana. He said he lost hope when his biological father reported him to law enforcement in the US as an illegal immigrant.

He said his father made false reports about his first marriage with an African American lady, which would have guaranteed his green card. And permanent stay in the United States.

According to Eric he first met his wife in school, and got married. My wife filed for me and for some reasons; it took more than the usual six months of a response from the immigration office. So he had to follow up on it. Eric was arrested at the same point for having a fake marriage. This was reported by an unknown caller. Apart from my roommate, nobody knew about it.

The young man formerly known as Eric Okyere said he had a tough time with his father while schooling. He revealed how his father forced him to pay for house rent while schooling and his refusal to settle his tuition fee. He had no option than to search for a job to see himself through school whiles living with a fellow Ghanaian.

Further said he went for schooling here for one year, and made a called to his dad. He agreed to allow him to stay with him. So that made him came to America to meet him for the first time in his life at age 26. He was excited, but he wasn’t. He asked him to leave the house, and he had stayed for only a few months and asked him to pay rent. He then was a student, and he couldn’t afford it. The stepmother loved him so much and paid his school fees for the first semester. But the dad won’t do it. All the work he was doing, he was saving up for the next semester. Then he met a Ghanaian brother who then took him in just like that, and he is the same person that connected him to the job he was doing. And a stranger called Yaw and he helped him.

He then narrated the months spent in jail because of his dad reports about allegations of a fake marriage. He disclosed how Good Samaritan paid 30,000 dollars to have him released and his decision to remain in the US to pursue his life opportunities.

When he was arrested, a lady in church asked about him from the pastor in the church. She had to pay about 30,000 dollars to release him. Afterwards, he then was asked to choose between going back to Ghana and staying in the US. He then chooses the US because the system in Ghana wasn’t working. He was processed for court, and the audio of the caller was played in court. It was nobody but his father. “I was lost for words, and I nearly collapsed,” he shared.

Eric Okyere changed his name to Eric Watson when he realized that his Dad refused to plead for a change. When the need arises and had to resort to using his mother’s maiden name Watson. He has survived through all the pains and has successfully achieved a career through his experience. He owns two hotels in Ghana and currently in the Real Estate business. He has a medical transportation business in the US. He has employed about 30 Ghanaian citizens and with high hopes to start more business in Ghana.