Moroccan LGBTQ+ woman deported to Cameroon despite court protection, returned to Morocco in hiding
Feb 27, 2026·Location: Alexandria, LA
Country of origin: Morocco
A 21-year-old Moroccan woman with a U.S. immigration judge's ruling prohibiting her return to Morocco was deported to Cameroon in mid-January 2026 as part of a secret third-country removal program. Without due process or legal counsel, she was subsequently returned to Morocco, where she faced persecution for her sexual orientation. She is now in hiding.
Timeline
Feb 27, 2026—Approximately 17 migrants from nine African nations held in Cameroon without documentation or due process; deportees coerced to voluntarily return to countries they fled
Feb 27, 2026—Moroccan woman Farah and at least one other Moroccan woman returned to Morocco from Cameroon; Farah enters hiding
Feb 27, 2026—Federal judge ruled third-country deportations to Cameroon illegal; suspended ruling pending appeal
Jan 1, 2026—Trump administration begins deporting migrants to Cameroon under secret bilateral agreement with Cameroonian authorities
Sources
- The dilemma of US-deported migrants in Cameroon: Trapped without rights or returned to danger
english.elpais.com·Feb 27, 2026·archived copy
- impactpolicies.org
- ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) on X
abc7.la·Feb 22, 2026·archived copy
- A Bureaucratic Nightmare: The Case of the Moroccan Woman Deported to Cameroon
cameroononline.org·Feb 25, 2026·archived copy
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