YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Immigration attorneys confirmed to The Associated Press that US authorities have sent another group of foreign nationals to Cameroon this week, despite the migrants having no connection to the Central African country.
According to Alma David, an attorney with the US-based Novo Legal Group, eight individuals who are not citizens of Cameroon touched down in the capital city of Yaounde on Monday aboard a deportation aircraft.
Both David and Joseph Awah Fru, a Cameroon-based attorney, confirmed they believe eight third-country migrants were aboard the flight, though they have not yet had contact with the new arrivals. The legal team is currently representing nine other migrants — four men and five women — from various African nations who were sent to Cameroon by US authorities last month.
The attorneys indicated they plan to provide legal assistance to this latest group of deportees as well.
“For now, my focus is handling their shock,” Fru stated.
An unnamed White House representative, speaking anonymously due to lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly, confirmed the second deportation flight occurred but provided no additional information.
The initial group of nine migrants was first exposed in a Saturday report by The New York Times. David noted that two individuals from that original group have already been returned to their native countries.
Among the nine previously deported migrants, eight had received protective orders from US immigration courts that should have prevented their removal to their home nations due to fears of persecution or torture, David explained. Some faced danger due to their sexual orientation, while others were at risk because of political activities.
By sending them to a third nation like Cameroon, where they could potentially be transferred to their home countries later, authorities were exploiting a legal “loophole,” David argued.
“That is why the United States did not send them directly to their countries,” Fru explained. “Because there is cause for concern that they might be harmed, that their lives are threatened.”
David confirmed that none of the nine individuals sent to Cameroon in the previous month — including migrants from Zimbabwe, Morocco and Ghana — had criminal backgrounds beyond traffic violations. She has not yet obtained information about the eight who arrived Monday.
Cameroon joins at least six other African nations that have agreed to accept deported third-country nationals through arrangements with the US. The agreements also include South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea. Cameroon has been led by 93-year-old President Paul Biya since 1982.
State Department documents reveal that several of these nations have received millions in payments for accepting deported migrants. However, the Trump administration has not disclosed details of other agreements, including the arrangement with Cameroon.
A recent report from Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff found that the Trump administration has invested at least $40 million to remove approximately 300 migrants to countries other than their own across Africa, Central America and other regions.
Internal administration records examined by the AP show 47 third-country agreements in various negotiation phases, with 15 completed and 10 nearing completion.
When contacted Monday about the Cameroon deportations, the State Department declined to discuss specifics, stating it had “no comment on the details of our diplomatic communications with other governments.”
“Implementing the Trump Administration’s immigration policies is a top priority for the Department of State,” the statement read, adding “we remain unwavering in our commitment to end illegal and mass immigration and bolster America’s border security.”
Cameroon’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
The Department of Homeland Security acknowledged January deportations to Cameroon but provided no specific details about third-country migrants and declined to comment on the second flight.
“We are applying the law as written. If a judge finds an illegal alien has no right to be in this country, we are going to remove them. Period,” the department stated. “These third-country agreements, which ensure due process under the U.S. Constitution, are essential to the safety of our homeland and the American people.”
The Trump administration has promoted third-country deportation agreements as a deterrent strategy, warning migrants in the US illegally that they could be sent “in any number of third countries” if deported. Officials also justify the practice as part of efforts to remove individuals they classify as dangerous criminals and gang members.
Legal advocates and activists argue the US should recognize that sending migrants to third countries with poor human rights records puts them at risk of being denied proper legal proceedings and subjected to mistreatment.
In a previous case last year, the US sent five individuals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos to Eswatini in southern Africa. All had been convicted of serious crimes including murder, attempted murder and rape, and had completed their sentences in the US.
Four of those deportees have remained in a maximum-security Eswatini prison for over six months without formal charges and have been denied in-person access to legal counsel. Their detention has prompted two legal challenges in Eswatini courts.
According to State Department documents, Eswatini — Africa’s final absolute monarchy under King Mswati III — will receive $5.1 million for accepting up to 160 third-country deportees. The king has faced longstanding criticism for suppressing pro-democracy demonstrations in a nation where political parties are prohibited, while allegedly using public funds for personal luxury.
