Farah, a 21-year-old lesbian woman who fled Morocco after facing violence and threats from her family because of her sexual orientation, says she is now living in hiding after being deported following a complex immigration ordeal involving the United States and a third country. Homosexuality remains illegal in Morocco and can carry prison sentences of up to three years, making her return particularly dangerous, she said.
According to Farah’s account, confirmed in part by legal documents reviewed by The Associated Press and verified by lawyers, she fled Morocco after enduring repeated abuse. She said both her family and her partner’s relatives assaulted her when they discovered their relationship, eventually forcing her to leave home. After relocating to another city, she alleged that family members tracked her down and attempted to kill her, prompting her decision to leave the country entirely.
With assistance from acquaintances, Farah and her partner travelled to Brazil on visas and then undertook a difficult journey across six countries to reach the United States border in early 2025, hoping to seek asylum. Upon arrival, however, she was detained for nearly a year in immigration facilities in Arizona and Louisiana, where she described harsh conditions, including cold temperatures, thin blankets and inadequate medical care.
Although her asylum request was denied, an immigration judge later issued a protection order in August preventing her deportation to Morocco on the grounds that returning her there could endanger her life. Her partner, who did not receive similar protection, was deported earlier.
Farah said that just three days before a scheduled hearing that could have led to her release, officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement handcuffed her and placed her on a flight to Cameroon — a country she had never visited and where homosexuality is also criminalised. Upon arrival, she was held in a detention facility in the capital, Yaoundé.
She said officials asked whether she wished to remain in Cameroon, but she refused, fearing for her safety in another country hostile to LGBTQ individuals. Eventually, she was flown back to Morocco, where she now lives in fear of being discovered by relatives or authorities while trying to rebuild her life.
Farah’s case is one of several cited by lawyers and advocacy groups involving migrants deported to third countries despite receiving protection orders from US immigration judges. Immigration attorneys argue that such transfers exploit legal grey areas, allowing authorities to remove migrants indirectly even when direct deportation to their home country is restricted.
Lawyer Alma David described the practice as a legal loophole that could expose individuals to renewed danger, claiming deportees were given little opportunity to challenge their transfer before being moved abroad. Reports indicate that many deportees sent to Cameroon had similar judicial protections, though the exact number remains unclear.
US authorities have defended the policy, stating that deportations are conducted in accordance with immigration law and constitutional due process. The Department of Homeland Security has said individuals found to have no legal right to remain in the country will be removed and that third-country agreements comply with legal requirements.
Cameroon is reportedly among several African nations that have accepted deported migrants from the United States under bilateral arrangements, some of which involve financial support. According to reports, millions of dollars have been allocated under such agreements, while dozens more deals are said to be under negotiation.
Now back in Morocco, Farah says daily life is defined by caution and fear. She continues working while remaining in hiding, uncertain about her future but determined to survive despite what she describes as a deeply traumatic sequence of events that ended with her return to the very place she had tried to escape.
