U.S. Secretly Deports Protected Migrants to Cameroon
In a move that has alarmed immigration advocates and human-rights observers, the United States quietly transferred nine migrants to Cameroon earlier this year, despite court rulings that barred their removal to their countries of origin. According to documents reviewed by journalists and accounts shared by the deportees and their legal representatives, none of the individuals are Cameroonian nationals, raising urgent questions about the legality and transparency of the operation.
The group was flown out of the United States in mid-January aboard a Department of Homeland Security charter flight that departed from Louisiana. Several of the migrants say they were never informed of their destination until they were already restrained and en route. Reports indicate that most had lived in the U.S. for years and had obtained legal protection after persuading immigration judges that returning home would expose them to violence, persecution, or death.
Upon arrival in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, the migrants were reportedly placed in a government-run compound and told they could not leave unless they agreed to return to their home countries. Lawyers assisting them say local authorities have framed the situation as a temporary transit arrangement, not long-term resettlement, leaving the deportees trapped in legal and humanitarian limbo.
Cameroon’s government has not publicly acknowledged any agreement with Washington to accept third-country deportees, and officials from the Ministry of External Relations declined to comment when contacted by journalists. The U.S. State Department has also avoided disclosing details, citing diplomatic confidentiality. As a result, it remains unclear what assurances, if any, were made regarding the migrants’ safety or legal status.
Those detained include individuals who say they fled political repression, armed conflict, and countries where sexual orientation is criminalized. One man, originally from southern Africa, described the transfer as resembling a covert trafficking operation rather than a lawful deportation. Others spoke of exhaustion and trauma after being moved through multiple U.S. detention centers before their sudden expulsion overseas.
Cameroonian attorney Joseph Awah Fru, who has been in contact with local authorities on behalf of the group, said that only two of the nine ultimately agreed to return to their home countries. According to him, the majority held formal protection orders from U.S. courts, and none had violent criminal records.
Human-rights groups argue that sending migrants to a third country under pressure, knowing they may then be coerced into returning to places deemed unsafe by U.S. courts, undermines the rule of law. Former immigration officials have described the practice as an indirect way of achieving removals that courts explicitly blocked.
International organizations have also become involved. Representatives of the International Organization for Migration visited the detainees, though accounts differ on what options were presented. The agency later stated that it had referred the individuals to the U.N. refugee system, noting that asylum and resettlement opportunities remain extremely limited worldwide. In practice, fewer than one in twenty refugees globally are able to secure third-country resettlement each year.
For those held in Yaoundé, the uncertainty is crushing. A young woman from West Africa said returning home would place her at immediate risk due to threats linked to her identity. Another detainee described the choice she faces as unbearable: remain indefinitely detained abroad or return to a country where she believes her life is in danger.
The Cameroon transfers appear to be part of a broader U.S. strategy that relies increasingly on third-country deportations when direct repatriation proves difficult. Senate investigations have previously found that tens of millions of dollars have been spent on similar arrangements worldwide, often with limited public oversight.
As more details slowly emerge, the episode has ignited debate over whether enforcement priorities are eclipsing legal protections meant to shield vulnerable people. For now, the fate of the migrants in Cameroon remains uncertain, suspended between borders, policies, and promises that appear to shift in secrecy.
