US Expands Deportation Strategy Sending Asylum Seekers to Cameroon Under Multi-Million Dollar Deals
Washington D.C., Sunday, 22 February 2026.
Investigations reveal the administration spent over $40 million to deport asylum seekers to African nations where they lack citizenship, sparking legal scrutiny and journalist detentions in Cameroon.
Financial Scale and Scope of Third-Country Agreements
A report released on February 14, 2026, by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has shed light on the substantial financial investments underpinning the Trump administration’s deportation strategy. The administration has allocated at least $40 million to deport approximately 300 migrants to countries other than their nation of origin[1]. This expenditure is part of a broader initiative involving agreements with at least seven African nations to accept third-country nationals, including Cameroon, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and Equatorial Guinea[1]. While the State Department has not publicly disclosed the specific terms of the deal with Cameroon, internal documents suggest that some of participating African nations have received millions of dollars in exchange for their cooperation[1][5].
Negotiations and Strategic Expansion
The administration’s efforts to expand this framework are ongoing and extensive. Internal documents indicate that negotiations for 47 additional third-country agreements are currently in various stages of development[1]. This strategic pivot aims to externalize asylum processing and deportation, a move that legal experts argue bypasses domestic legal safeguards. On January 14, 2026, the first known flight under this specific initiative transported at least nine asylum seekers from Louisiana to Cameroon[5]. This operation included individuals who were not Cameroonian nationals, marking a significant shift in enforcement logistics[5].
Human Rights Concerns and Legal Contradictions
The execution of these deportations has drawn sharp criticism regarding due process and the safety of deportees. Human Rights Watch reported that in January and February 2026, the U.S. deported 17 individuals to Cameroon from nine different African countries, including Angola, Kenya, and Morocco[2]. Among those affected was “Farah,” a 21-year-old gay woman who fled Morocco due to the criminalization of homosexuality[1]. Despite obtaining a protection order from a U.S. immigration judge in August 2025 preventing her deportation to Morocco, she was flown to Cameroon by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and subsequently returned to Morocco, where she is now in hiding[1]. Farah described the experience as cruel, stating, “It is hard to live and work with the fear of being tracked once again by my family”[1].
Crackdown on Press Freedom and Diplomatic Silence
Efforts to scrutinize the situation on the ground in Cameroon have resulted in the detention of journalists and legal representatives. On February 16, 2026, following the arrival of a deportation flight, three freelance journalists were briefly detained by authorities[1]. In a separate incident in the capital, Yaoundé, police detained four journalists and attorney Joseph Awah Fru at a state-run compound[4]. The authorities reportedly confiscated equipment, alleging the group had obtained sensitive government information[4]. As of Friday, February 20, 2026, the U.S. State Department offered no comment on the details of its diplomatic communications regarding these events[1].