CAMEROON has emerged as the latest African country to receive deportees from the United States who are not its nationals, becoming the second West African nation to accept such transfers after Ghana.
The Trump administration secretly deported nine individuals to Cameroon on January 14, despite many possessing U.S. court protections against deportation and none being Cameroonian citizens, the newspaper reported Saturday, citing government documents and attorneys for the deportees.
The development marks a significant expansion of the administration’s deportation strategy in West Africa, raising questions about bilateral agreements and the legal basis for sending non-nationals to third countries.
Several deportees did not learn their destination until boarding a Department of Homeland Security flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, where they were placed in handcuffs and chains, according to a New York Times report.
The Trump administration has not publicly announced any agreement with Cameroon to accept deportees from other nations, distinguishing this case from arrangements with Ghana and Nigeria, which have previously accepted non-national deportees under known bilateral frameworks.
The lack of a publicly disclosed agreement raises legal and diplomatic questions about the terms under which Cameroon accepted the transfers and whether similar arrangements may be in development with other African nations.
With Cameroon’s involvement, a pattern is forming across West Africa, where three countries have now participated in accepting deportees who are not their citizens. The precedent set by Ghana and Nigeria appears to be expanding, though the specific terms and conditions of these arrangements remain largely undisclosed.
The situation highlights the Trump administration’s broader immigration enforcement approach and its efforts to secure cooperation from foreign governments in accepting deportees, even in cases involving non-nationals.
