US deports nine people to Cameroon, even those with court protections — report

According to The New York Times, the Donald Trump administration deported the individuals on a January 14 flight without publicly announcing any agreement with Cameroon to accept third-country nationals. Several deportees reportedly had active U.S. court protections and were unaware of their destination until departure.

Reuters

15 February 2026 at 07:02:24

US deports nine people to Cameroon, even those with court protections — report

FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security seal is displayed at the FEMA National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 24, 2026.

Nathan Howard/Reuters

The Trump administration secretly deported nine people to Cameroon, despite many of them having U.S. court protections against such action and none of them hailing from that African nation, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

Several of the men and women sent to Cameroon on a January 14 flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, did not know their destination until they were put on a Department of Homeland Security flight and placed in handcuffs and chains, the newspaper said, citing government documents and attorneys for the deportees.

DHS, the State Department and Cameroon's Ministry of External Affairs did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately reach attorneys representing the detainees.

The administration of President Donald Trump has not announced any deal in which Cameroon agreed to accept deportees from other nations.

-Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Sergio Non and William Mallard/Reuters