US deported gay asylum-seeker to a third country where homosexuality is illegal

A 21-year-old Moroccan woman who received a U.S. immigration judge’s protection order was deported from the United States to Cameroon and later returned to Morocco, where she says she is now in hiding; the Department of Homeland Security confirmed deportations to Cameroon and said it is applying the law as written.

Farah, a 21-year-old woman from Morocco, told the Associated Press she fled family violence and sought asylum in the United States. An immigration judge issued a protection order that a return to Morocco would endanger her life. Despite that order, she was deported to Cameroon in January and was later flown back to Morocco, where she says she is hiding. U.S. officials have confirmed deportations to Cameroon and provided limited public comment. Reported facts: - An immigration judge issued Farah a protection order saying she could not be returned to Morocco because of danger to her life. - In January, U.S. authorities deported her to Cameroon, a country she had not visited and where homosexuality is illegal, and she was subsequently flown to Morocco. - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed there were deportations to Cameroon and said it is applying the law as written; the State Department declined to comment and Cameroon's Foreign Ministry did not respond. - Lawyer Joseph Awah Fru says he will apply to seek access to deportees in Yaounde on Monday; further legal outcomes are undetermined at this time. Summary: The report describes at least one case in which a person who had a U.S. immigration judge’s protection order was nonetheless sent to a third country and then returned to their home country. A lawyer plans to seek access to the group of deportees in Cameroon; further legal steps and outcomes are undetermined at this time.