United States and Cameroon reached undisclosed third-country deportation agreement

The United States and Cameroon reached a third-country removal agreement through a series of diplomatic notes dated December 8, 2025, which were not made public until the State Department posted them in June 2026. The notes state that "certain third-country nationals" can be sent from the U.S. to Cameroon, with Cameroon assuring it would treat transferred individuals "in accordance with its international legal obligations" and not subject them to persecution or torture there or in any country to which Cameroon might further transfer them.

On January 15, 2026, nine people — five men and four women from Angola, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, and Zimbabwe, plus one stateless individual — were forcibly transferred to Cameroon; U.S. immigration judges had found eight of the nine likely to face persecution or torture if removed to their home countries and had granted them withholding of removal or Convention Against Torture protection. A second flight carrying eight more people arrived February 16, 2026, and further flights followed April 29 and May 27, 2026, bringing the total to at least 36 people. Asked for comment on the agreement, the State Department told the Associated Press only that it had "no comment on the details of our diplomatic communications with other governments."

Reporting reviewed by the AP found the deal was one of at least 15 concluded third-country agreements (of 47 in some stage of negotiation) as of February 2026, and that the Trump administration separately withheld UN refugee agency funding for Cameroon around the time the deal was struck before announcing a $30 million UNHCR contribution weeks later.

Updates

2026-02-25 — Federal judge ruled third-country removal policy unlawful [4]

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy (D. Mass.) granted partial summary judgment in D.V.D. v. DHS, ruling that DHS's third-country removal policy — the same policy under which the U.S. sent people to Cameroon, El Salvador, South Sudan, Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea, and Ghana — violated federal law and due process, and ordering the government to first attempt removal to a migrant's country of origin or listed removal country before any third-country transfer. Murphy stayed his own order for 15 days to allow an appeal.

2026-03-11 — First Circuit stayed the ruling pending appeal [5]

The First Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Trump administration's request to pause Murphy's order hours before it was set to take effect, allowing third-country removals — including the ongoing transfers to Cameroon — to continue while the case proceeds toward likely Supreme Court review.