Has Cameroon Joined the US Deportations Gravy Train?

AFRIQUE DU SUD | SOUTH AFRICA

APA-Johannesburg (South Africa)

17 February 2026 | 09:29

The United States is facing mounting scrutiny amid reports it is secretly deporting migrants Cameroon, raising questions about the secrecy involved in Washington’s deportation programme for rejected asylum seekers.

News reports from the US monitored here on Tuesday say the migrants were flown out of the US in shackles in January and deposited at a state‑run facility in Cameroon where they are reportedly allowed to leave only if they agree to return to the countries they fled.

There has been no official communication from both Cameroonian and US authorities about the deal.

According to the New York Times, several of the deportees had active court orders in the US protecting them from removal, yet were deported anyway.

The revelations shed new light on the US’ expanding use of “third‑country” deportations, a once‑rare practice now increasingly deployed under President Donald Trump’s intensified crackdown on migration.

A recent Senate oversight report found that Washington has already paid at least $32 million to countries willing to receive deported migrants – a workaround that allows the US to avoid sending asylum seekers directly back to places where they may face torture, imprisonment or death.

Rights groups say the system exploits legal grey zones: while US law prohibits returning asylum seekers to danger, it does not explicitly forbid sending them to unrelated third countries.

What remains unclear is whether those countries are honouring asylum claims or simply pressuring migrants to go back to the very places they fled.

Cameroon is not the only location being used.

Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea and Ghana have also served as stopover points for migrants being quietly redirected to their home countries despite some having legal protections in the US.

The disclosures come as Trump’s second‑term immigration enforcement escalates, with large‑scale raids and aggressive removals drawing criticism even from some of his traditional allies.

Analysts warn that the use of third‑country deportations signals a broader shift towards dismantling long‑standing asylum protections.