Cameroon

On January 15, 2026, nine third-country nationals—five men and four women from Angola, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, and Zimbabwe, along with one stateless individual—were forcibly transferred from the United States to Cameroon. Immigration judges in the United States had found that eight of the nine individuals would likely face persecution or torture if removed to their home countries and granted then withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). On February 16, a second flight arrived with eight additional third-country nationals—two women and six men from Sierra Leone, Senegal, the DRC, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Seven had been granted withholding of removal  and one had been granted deferral of removal under CAT.

Some individuals were given notice that they would be deported to Cameroon and, when they expressed fear, were not provided a fear interview, including a woman who had been told she would receive one. Others were not informed they were being deported to Cameroon until they were already in the air en route to Cameroon. One individual was told in the airplane hangar that he would be deported to Ghana as a third country, but at the last minute officials informed him it would instead be Cameroon. When he expressed fear of being deported there, officers placed him in a full-body restraint (the WRAP). All the other third country nationals were handcuffed and shackled on the flight.  

The individuals are currently detained at a government-owned facility in Yaoundé guarded by plainclothes security personnel. They told reporters they felt intense pressure to agree to repatriation and two women on the first flight agreed to return to Morocco. One of these women had fled Morocco because she was gay; her family beat and threatened to kill her in a country where same-sex relations are criminalized. But homosexuality is also criminalized in Cameroon. She returned to Morocco and is currently living in hiding while the whereabouts of the second woman are unknown. The third country nationals have had contact mostly with Cameroonian officials and reportedly officials from the International Organization for Migration who also referred them to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Until the end of January, attorneys attempting to meet with the third-country nationals to provide legal counsel were denied access to the facility. In mid February, Barrister Joseph Fru, a Cameroonian human rights lawyer, met with  some of the detained third country nationals  but then was arrested, along with several journalists attempting to document conditions and talk with the detainees. Although he and the journalists were later released, police confiscated the journalists’ equipment—including cameras, laptops, and phones—and did not return it for several days, and only after intervention by Barrister Fru. Since then, authorities have not permitted Barrister Fru to enter the facility to meet with his clients.

DHS’s refusal to provide third country nationals such as those sent to Cameroon with meaningful notice and a chance to contest their removal to a third country is being challenged in the case DVD v. DHS. In late February, DHS’s third county removal policy was found to be unlawful by a federal district court judge in Massachusetts. The Trump administration has appealed, the decision is stayed, and litigation in the case continues.

Longstanding conditions in Cameroon raise serious concerns about the safety of individuals deported there from the United States, with independent human rights organizations repeatedly warning against removals to the country. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented that Cameroonian authorities have subjected deportees, including asylum seekers previously removed from the United States, to arbitrary detention, torture, and other forms of serious harm, often based solely on perceived political affiliation or generalized suspicion. These risks are especially acute in the context of Cameroon’s ongoing internal conflicts, including the Anglophone crisis in the North-West and South-West regions, where security forces and armed groups have committed widespread abuses against civilians. The U.S. Department of State has likewise reported credible accounts of unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and harsh prison conditions across the country.

In the context of bilateral relations between the two countries, on August 5, 2025, the Trump administration terminated Temporary Protected Status fornearly 5,000 Cameroonians, which is currently being challenged in Casa v. Noem. In late 2025, the U.S. announced a plan to provide financial support for Cameroon’s public health system which may have influenced negotiations over the third country national deportation agreement. Despite Cameroon agreeing to accept third country nationals, however, in January 2026, the Trump administration halted immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries, including Cameroon, with limited exceptions for student and other short-term nonimmigrant visas.