US Sends Migrants with No Ties to Cameroon Under Controversial Deportation Policy

A US deportation flight landed in Cameroon carrying migrants with no ties to the country, following similar deportations under former President Donald Trump’s policy. Previous flights sent migrants to several African nations, often under secretive deals with financial incentives. Lawyers say the deportations violate US court protections, and critics argue the actions breach human rights and raise safety concerns in host countries.

A new deportation flight from the United States has arrived in Cameroon, carrying migrants who reportedly have no ties to the country. The flight landed in the capital, Yaoundé, on 16 February, following previous deportations under former President Donald Trump’s controversial migration policies. While the nationalities of the latest deportees have not been disclosed, an earlier group included individuals from Zimbabwe, Morocco, and Ghana, comprising five women and four men. Lawyers representing the migrants in the US and Cameroon said the deportations violated court orders that had protected them from expulsion. The White House confirmed the flight but provided no further details.
These deportations are part of a broader pattern under the Trump administration, which has sent third-country migrants to several African nations, including South Sudan, Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda, Eswatini, and Equatorial Guinea, often including deportees who are not African nationals. The operations are carried out under secretive arrangements, with the US providing financial incentives to host countries for managing deportees.
According to a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee report, the Trump administration spent at least $40 million to deport roughly 300 migrants to countries other than their own. The US State Department also disclosed that Eswatini would receive $5.1 million to host up to 160 third-country deportees. Last year, five men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos, convicted of serious crimes in the US, were deported to Eswatini.
While most host countries have remained silent on these agreements, Ghana denied receiving any payments, claiming its participation was motivated by a Pan-African spirit. Critics argue that these deportations violate human rights, as some migrants had fled unsafe conditions in their home countries, and due process is often bypassed. Citizens of host nations have also expressed concern that some deportees include hardened criminals, raising safety issues in their communities.