Keypoints:
- 36 deportees seek legal protection
- Court asked to suspend arrangement
- Case raises treaty transparency questions
THIRTY-SIX African migrants deported from the United States have asked a court in Yaoundé to suspend a reported US-Cameroon migration arrangement and stop them being sent to countries where they say they could face persecution, torture or other serious harm.
The case brings Washington’s expanding third-country deportation policy before an African court, raising questions about Cameroon’s legal obligations, the migrants’ uncertain status and whether an undisclosed bilateral arrangement received the scrutiny required under domestic law.
Legal challenge targets arrangement
The complaint filed with the administrative court in Yaoundé seeks to suspend further implementation of the arrangement while its legality is examined, require the government to clarify the applicants’ legal status and prevent their onward removal to countries where they could face serious danger.
AFP reported that Cameroon-based lawyer Joseph Awah Fru said the migrants wanted permission to remain legally in Cameroon rather than face repatriation to their home countries.
The group includes people originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Angola, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Senegal, Zimbabwe and Morocco. They were transferred from the United States to Cameroon between January and May 2026.
According to Awah Fru, the migrants are living at a centre managed by Cameroonian authorities where the International Organization for Migration provides migration-related support.
He alleges that they have been deprived of identity documents and a clear legal status and are subject to restrictions on movement.
Details of the reported arrangement have not been made public.
Court protections face new test
AFP reported, citing the migrants’ lawyer, that all 36 had received US court protection against removal to their countries of origin.
Earlier AP reporting independently established that eight members of an initial group of nine deportees had orders preventing their return because they feared persecution or torture. That distinction remains important until the full court filing or individual records are made public.
Protection from removal to a particular country does not automatically grant permanent US status. US Justice Department guidance says withholding of removal prevents return to the home country but may still allow removal to a third country where the person’s life or freedom would not be threatened.
Lawyers representing affected migrants argue that the policy can become a legal loophole when people are transferred to states where their status is unclear and where they may eventually be pressured to return home.
The lawsuit follows a second US deportation flight carrying third-country nationals to Cameroon, which landed in Yaoundé in February and intensified concern about the secrecy surrounding the transfers.
Constitutional questions emerge
Cameroon’s Constitution gives the president authority to negotiate and ratify international treaties and agreements.
Section 43 requires treaties and agreements falling within the competence of the Legislative Power to be submitted to Parliament for authorisation to ratify.
Section 45 provides that duly approved or ratified treaties and international agreements override national laws after publication, provided the other party implements them.
Those provisions do not establish that the reported arrangement is unlawful. Much may depend on how the government classified the instrument, what obligations it creates and whether it falls within an area requiring parliamentary approval.
The limited public information may nevertheless become relevant as the court considers Awah Fru’s argument that an administrative arrangement cannot override Cameroon’s constitutional and international obligations.
The case asks whether Cameroon can accept foreign deportees without a publicly explained framework governing residence, movement, documentation and protection against forced return.
Washington builds African network
Cameroon is among several African countries that have accepted, or discussed accepting, people removed from the United States despite their having no citizenship or established ties to the receiving country.
AFP identified the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Rwanda, South Sudan, Eswatini, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone among states linked to the policy.
Africa Briefing has examined how Washington widened its third-country deportation strategy towards Africa and how African governments began facing legal and political scrutiny over the deals.
The Trump administration maintains that people who cannot lawfully be returned to their countries of origin may still be removed to suitable third countries.
AFP has reported that Washington offered agreements worth millions of dollars and used the threat of visa restrictions as leverage in negotiations with some governments.
Secrecy surrounding the arrangements can expose African governments to accusations that they are accepting legal and humanitarian risks that properly belong to the deporting country.
What happens next?
The Yaoundé administrative court must determine how to address the request for suspension and clarification of the migrants’ legal position.
Its response could decide whether further transfers continue while the arrangement’s legality is examined and may influence similar disputes in other African countries involved in Washington’s deportation programme.
For the applicants, the immediate issue is whether they can obtain lawful status and protection in Cameroon rather than remain in uncertainty or face removal to countries they say are unsafe.
For Cameroon, the case presents a wider test of transparency, parliamentary oversight and the limits of executive cooperation with a foreign government.
The eventual ruling may help determine whether Africa’s role in Washington’s deportation strategy develops through accountable legal agreements or confidential arrangements that courts, lawmakers and the public are left to question.
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