Trump Administration Secretly Deports Nine to Cameroon Despite Court Protections

The Trump administration secretly deported nine people to Cameroon on January 14, despite many having US court protections and none being Cameroonian. Deportees were unaware of their destination until boarded in handcuffs. DHS, the State Department, and Cameroon’s Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to requests for comment, and no formal agreement with Cameroon was announced.

The administration of President Donald Trump secretly carried out the deportation of nine individuals to Cameroon, even though many of those affected were protected by active rulings from United States courts that barred their removal, and none of them were citizens or nationals of Cameroon. The operation was not publicly disclosed at the time and only came to light through reporting by The New York Times, which revealed the details on Saturday.
According to the report, several of the men and women placed on the deportation flight were kept in the dark about where they were being sent until the very last moment. The group was transported on a Department of Homeland Security aircraft that departed on January 14 from Alexandria, Louisiana. The deportees reportedly only learned that their destination was Cameroon after they had already been boarded onto the plane, where they were restrained with handcuffs and chains. The newspaper said its findings were based on internal government documents as well as accounts provided by attorneys representing the deported individuals.
The secrecy surrounding the operation has raised serious concerns among immigration advocates and legal experts, particularly because some of those deported were believed to have legal protections that should have prevented their removal under US law. Questions have also been raised about the legality of sending individuals to a third country with which they have no known ties, especially in the absence of a publicly acknowledged agreement.
When contacted for clarification and comment, the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Department of State, and Cameroon’s Ministry of External Affairs did not immediately respond to inquiries from Reuters. As of the time of the report, the Trump administration had not announced any formal arrangement or bilateral agreement indicating that Cameroon had consented to receive deportees from other countries, further deepening uncertainty about how and why the removals were carried out.