“If I Go Back, I’ll Vanish”: The U.S. Is About to Deport Thousands of Cameroonians

Michael (a pseudonym) is a man nearing fifty who has been living in the United States since 2015. Today, he risks being deported. “If they take away our TPS and send us back, it’ll be like descending into hell,” he states with a wary state of calmness.

For potentially 7,900 Cameroonians like Michael residing in the U.S., June 7 will be a decisive date, as it marks the expiration of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS): a temporary government protection for nationals of crisis-affected countries. TPS allows recipients to obtain a work permit (EAD), a Social Security number, the ability to travel abroad, and - most importantly - the assurance that they will not be deported.

Unlike asylum, which is granted on an individual basis and requires applicants to prove a well-founded fear of persecution, TPS is granted by the federal government to groups from specific countries facing widespread danger.

It is estimated that 3,265 Cameroonians held TPS in March 2024, contributing an annual economic impact of around $99 million. Since June 2022, this status has granted “a kind of freedom.” Now, it is under threat since Kristi Noem, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), declared that the current situation in Cameroon no longer justifies the continuation of temporary protection.

In contrast, Cameroon faces multiple overlapping crises. In the latest report by the Norwegian Refugee Council, released on June 3rd, Cameroon is described as “the world’s most neglected displacement crisis”. Among the reasons, there is the enduring ethno-linguistic conflict - known as the “Anglo-Francophone crisis” - rooted in the country’s colonial history. After World War I, the former German protectorate was divided by the League of Nations between the United Kingdom, which managed the Northwest and Southwest regions, and France, which oversaw the rest of the country. 

Following independence in 1960, Cameroon experienced a federal period until 1972, when it transitioned to a centralised government. The Anglophone regions, however, retained British legal, administrative, and educational systems.

Tensions escalated in October 2016, when peaceful protests erupted in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions as lawyers, teachers, and students opposed the growing use of French in courts and schools. The government’s harsh response fueled the emergence of the Ambazonia self-determination claim, culminating in a declaration of independence on 1 October 2017 under the leadership of the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC), an Anglophone separatist group.

“When I moved to the United States, I used to join small groups where we collected money to buy weapons. We called them ‘sugarcane,’ and the bullets were ‘peanuts,’” said Michael, originally from the self-proclaimed Ambazonia. At the time, his activism was a way to support his people from abroad. But that involvement ended after several pro-Ambazonia individuals were arrested in the United States. 

“I was blacklisted back home, labelled as someone who incites war and unrest.” Michael told FairPlanet.

Many African nationals in the U.S. share Michael’s fear of deportation, notably since President Donald Trump announced the implementation of a mass deportation plan during his election campaign and the relative adoption of the executive order “Protecting The American People Against Invasion” last January. Since then, all non-citizens -regardless of their specific residency status - have faced the risk of deportation. According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated 13.7 million undocumented individuals live in the US, including approximately 415,000 Africans.

The uneven geography of protection

Democratic Representative Naquetta Ricks of Aurora, Colorado, notes the double standard: “TPS is typically granted swiftly to European countries, such as Ukraine, or other so-called ‘strategic’ nations. For African countries, however, it takes a long and strenuous advocacy battle -it requires negotiation, persistence, and the hope of being heard. There is a disparity in how the U.S. approaches African conflicts compared to crises in other parts of the world.” 

Originally from Liberia, Ricks founded the African Chamber of Commerce, the first organisation of its kind. For over a decade, it has been working to empower businesses founded by African immigrants.

In fact, as of this writing, TPS has only been designated for a small minority of African countries, namely Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. Yet many more countries across the vast African continent are afflicted by ethno-religious conflicts, resource-driven wars, civil strife, and devastating natural disasters. 

One striking example is the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which deals with one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies, with an internally displaced population of close to 7 million. For the past 25 years, the DRC has been embroiled in a violent conflict with the Congo River Alliance, a Congolese rebel coalition including the pro-Rwandan Tutsi group known as the March 23 Movement (M23). Amid political influences and colonial legacies, control over the natural resources of the eastern Kivu region remains the central stake. In January, a new wave of violent and bloody clashes forced 500,000 people to flee their homes. Discussions of peace agreements, potentially mediated by the United States, which is itself seeking mining deals with the DRC and Rwanda, are underway. 

Although returning to their country would endanger their safety, Congolese nationals residing in the U.S., numbering around 17,000, are excluded from TPS and remain at risk of deportation. 

Temporary protection represents only a fraction of the broader and constantly shifting landscape of U.S. immigration policy. Within this framework, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is pivotal in enforcing large-scale deportations.

“People are afraid to go to work because they know ICE can show up any time. You have to look around, be cautious of every movement,” explains Houleye Thiam, co-founder of the Mauritanian Network for Human Rights in the U.S. and community organiser for the Mauritanian diaspora in Columbus, Ohio.

ICE is a domestic agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Its officers arrest individuals suspected of residing unlawfully in the U.S. Their tactics include targeted operations, often involving unannounced visits to homes or schools. 

Demba Ndiath, an employee at the Ohio Immigrant Alliance and organiser for the Senegalese community in Columbus, told FairPlanet, “On certain days, we went door to door delivering food because people were too afraid to leave their homes. We distributed red cards translated into English and French that stated an immigrant’s right to remain silent if approached by an ICE agent.” 

Both Ndiath and Thiam regularly organise informational sessions in local mosques to raise awareness among their communities about their rights.

A Journey of Desperation: From Africa to the U.S. Border

Senegal and Mauritania are two of Africa's most politically stable countries. Yet, people still undertake complex, multi-leg journeys - often flying through Morocco or Turkey to reach Colombia or El Salvador - before traversing several countries to arrive at the U.S. southern border with Mexico. For most Senegalese people, economic insecurity is a primary driver of emigration. 

Houleye Thiam comments: “Afro-Mauritanians are fleeing violence in their home country, hoping to find protection and dignity in the United States.” Thiam adds, “Now, it’s as though no one wants them, as though persecution follows them wherever they go.” 

Afro-Mauritanians face historically systemic discrimination perpetrated by the Arab-Berber Beydan minority.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, this may help explain the 15,500 Mauritanians who crossed into the U.S. in 2023 and another 8,500 Mauritanians between March and June 2024.

As security threats drive more people to cross the U.S. border in search of protection, Bill Ong Hing - Professor of Law and Migration Studies at the University of San Francisco and Founding Director of the Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic - has, along with his students, assisted around 400 asylum seekers fleeing violence in several countries, including Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria. Commenting on U.S. border externalisation agreements with countries like Panama, Hing explains that “under U.S. law, if a person expresses fear of returning to their home country, they are entitled to a credible fear interview. But the current administration often denies even this basic procedure, in complete disregard for the right to due process.” 

The asylum process itself is also becoming increasingly restrictive. In January, President Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Programme (USRAP), stating it would remain on hold “until the further entry of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.” According to a memoissued on April 11, individuals who fail to meet the initial eligibility threshold for protection will be denied a hearing. 

While more than 100,000 refugees already approved for resettlement remain in limbo - according to the International Rescue Committee -, 54 white Afrikaners from South Africa were recognised as refugees by executive order, having been deemed victims of racial discrimination in their home country. 

The treatment of Black African migrants in the U.S. reveals a persistent double standard in the consistency and equity of American immigration policy.

As the expiration date for TPS approaches, thousands of Cameroonians in the U.S. are left in uncertainty - unable to return to a country still gripped by violence, yet unsure whether protection in the U.S. will last. For Michael, the stakes are painfully clear. “If I were deported to Cameroon, I’d end up in a place where I’d be tortured - possibly killed,” he said.

Image by Floris Van Cauwelaert.

Reporting for this piece was supported by Nneka Stefania Achapu, whose insight and guidance were invaluable to the research process.