A pregnant Ghanaian woman and her young son have been held at Washington Dulles International Airport for more than a week, with the pair being held in a windowless detention cell despite serious health concerns, according to lawyers.Annabella Gyasi, 38, arrived at Dulles Airport last Tuesday with her four-year-old son after traveling from Ghana for a medical appointment in Ohio. According to an emergency court petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia, the boy was born with deformed hands and was scheduled to be evaluated at Akron Children’s Hospital on May 30 to determine whether he is now old enough for surgery.Instead of boarding their connecting flight, Gyasi and his son were detained by US Customs and Border Protection officers.The couple first traveled to the US in 2024 for treatment for the child, but later returned to Ghana after doctors advised he was still too young for surgery.Gyasi is more than four months pregnant and told immigration officials she feared returning to Ghana because of the harassment she and her son faced. His lawyers say that statement led to his detention.“Ms. Gyasi traveled to the United States legally to get the medical care she needed for her son, but the illegal detention and inhumane treatment she is experiencing at Dulles is putting her son’s health at risk as well as her own,” Sophia Gregg, senior counsel for immigrants’ rights at the ACLU of Virginia, said in a statement.Legal filings allege Gyasi has been hospitalized twice since arriving in the US due to pregnancy-related complications, including vaginal bleeding and dizziness. Despite receiving treatment, he was returned to the airport detention facility after both hospital visits. Doctors raised concerns that she was not eating enough and experiencing stress while in custody. They also allege that repeated requests for additional food for both mother and child were refused.According to the ACLU, Gyasi ultimately agreed to sign the deportation paperwork because she feared for the health of her unborn child and believed it was the only way to secure adequate food. His legal team later informed the authorities that the decision was taken out of frustration.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has rejected the allegations of abuse.“These allegations are false,” the department said in a statement.He added: “Everyone in CBP custody, including this individual, has access to appropriate care, including medical evaluation by a doctor, medication, and food.”Immigration officials argued that Gyasi could not use a tourist visa to enter the country because she had said under oath that she wanted to seek asylum and did not plan to return to Ghana.