This case is filed on behalf of two Cameroonian men abused by U.S. immigration officials while engaging in a hunger strike to protest their detention conditions and during their deportations. Both men were deported to Cameroon, where they suffered retaliation after U.S. officials turned over documents related to their asylum cases to the Cameroonian government. The case seeks damages for abuse suffered and the opportunity for the individuals to return to the United States for a fair opportunity to apply for asylum.

U.S. officials pepper sprayed the two men while they were detained and forcibly locked them in solitary confinement for peacefully protesting their deplorable conditions of confinement – including racist targeting by guards and medical neglect. U.S. officials then deported the two men. During the deportation, U.S. officials subjected the men to hours of painful restraints and deprived them of access to the restroom and medical care. U.S. officials illegally gave their luggage containing documents related to their asylum cases to Cameroonian officials, who imprisoned them as traitors. A 2022 Human Rights Watch report detailed the stories of the two men and others who experienced this confidentiality breach and were endangered when deported to Cameroon.

A coalition of activists and immigrants’ rights organizations formed the Cameroon Advocacy Network under the leadership of formerly detained Cameroonians in order to advocate for Cameroonians in the U.S., including those subjected to abuse in ICE detention. After years of advocacy, the Cameroon Advocacy Network secured Temporary Protected Status for Cameroon in April 2022, protecting Cameroonians in the U.S. from deportation. However, that protection came too late for people including the men in this lawsuit, who were deported back to danger.