USA16 February, 20262 min read
Trump Administration Deports More Third‑Country Nationals to Cameroon in Secretive Program
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United States deported a new group of third‑country nationals to Cameroon. Deportations occurred through a secretive program returning immigrants to countries they lack ties with.
6 outlets told this the same way.
U.S. migrants flown to Cameroon
Over the last weeks the U.S. has carried out at least one secretive operation moving non-Cameroonian migrants to Cameroon, according to lawyers and media reporting. Lawyers Alma David and Joseph Awah Fru told the AP that a plane landed in Yaounde carrying about eight non-Cameroonian migrants and that they are advising some of those on an earlier flight that sent nine migrants to Cameroon.
“The U.S. has deported another group of third‑country nationals to Cameroon, lawyers told the AP, days after it emerged that a previous secretive flight last month sent nine migrants there.”
Two of those nine migrants have since been repatriated to their home countries. Media reports say this move followed a January deportation that U.S. officials confirmed but described only in limited terms.
Flights circumventing removal orders
Legal advocates say the flights have moved people who held U.S. immigration‑judge protection orders that barred removal to their home countries and that sending them to Cameroon functions as a legal workaround to those protections. Theweek.in reports eight of the nine migrants on the earlier flight had judge orders shielding them from removal because of fears of persecution or torture, including due to sexual orientation or political activity. Lawyers told the AP those migrants had no serious criminal records beyond minor driving offenses, according to one attorney quoted in reports.
Trump-era deportation program
Reporting across the sources places these Cameroon flights within a broader Trump-era third-country deportation program that involved payments to foreign governments and multiple bilateral agreements. The Inquirer cites State Department documents and a Senate Democratic staff report that put spending at about $40 million to deport roughly 300 migrants to third countries. Internal administration documents reviewed by the AP indicate 47 third-country agreements were at various stages of negotiation.
“Documents from the State Department show some countries were paid millions to accept deported migrants, though details of several agreements (including one with Cameroon) have not been publicly released. Internal administration documents reviewed by the AP indicate 47 such third-country agreements are at various stages of negotiation.”
Third-country migrant risks
Human-rights advocates and legal critics warn that sending migrants to third countries with weak rights protections can strip them of due process and expose them to abuse. The Canon City Daily Record cites activists and lawyers making this point.
The paper provides a concrete example: the U.S. sent five convicted foreign nationals to Eswatini last year. The report says four of those individuals were held in maximum-security detention for more than six months without charges or in-person access to a lawyer, and those detentions are facing legal challenges.
Official silence on deportations
The State Department declined to discuss diplomatic communications about the Cameroon deportations. Cameroon’s foreign ministry did not respond to queries.
“Documents from the State Department show some countries were paid millions to accept deported migrants, though details of several agreements (including one with Cameroon) have not been publicly released.”
DHS confirmed January deportations but declined to give specifics or comment on reports of a second flight. All three outlets reproduce those official refusals or limited confirmations, underscoring the secrecy and limited public record around the program.