African migrants deported from US seek Cameroon protection

Thirty-six Africans deported from the United States to Cameroon have started legal proceedings in Yaounde seeking legal status in Cameroon and protection from onward deportation, their lawyer Fru Awah said Wednesday.

Awah said the complaint before Cameroon's administrative court asks judges to suspend a migration arrangement between Cameroon and the United States while its legality is reviewed. He said the applicants want Cameroonian authorities to clarify their status and prevent their removal to countries where they face persecution or torture.

The group includes people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Angola, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Senegal, Zimbabwe and Morocco. Awah said they had been protected by US immigration courts from removal to their countries of origin but were deported to Cameroon between January and May.

Awah said the migrants have been living in a centre run by Cameroonian authorities with the International Organization for Migration, without identity documents or clear legal status and with restrictions on movement.

Cameroon is among several African countries that have agreed to receive people deported from the United States. The administration of US President Donald Trump says that although it cannot return these individuals to their countries of origin, nothing prevents it from sending them to third countries.

AFP reported that a previous investigation found the United States had offered agreements worth millions of dollars and warned of visa restrictions to persuade third countries, especially in Africa, to accept deported people.