Extension for Current TPS Holders:
On April 15, 2022 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated TPS for Cameroon, meaning that Cameroonians who were in the US on or before April 14, 2022 may be eligible for TPS. For existing TPS holders from Cameroon, the status is extended for 18 months, starting from December 8, 2023, to June 7, 2025. To maintain TPS, re-registration is necessary during the 60-day period from October 10, 2023, to December 11, 2023.

Redesignation for New Applicants:
Individuals who arrived in the U.S. after October 5, 2023, can apply for TPS for the first time. The initial registration period is from October 10, 2023, to June 7, 2025. Continuous residence since October 5, 2023, and continuous physical presence since December 8, 2023, are requirements for new applicants.

Congress established TPS to provide life-saving protection to people who, if deported, would be at imminent risk of harm or death. TPS allows individuals from designated countries to stay and work in the U.S. while they are unable to return safely to the designated country. Cameroon was designated for an immediate designation of TPS under INA § 244(b)(1)(C), due to “extraordinary and temporary conditions” impacting most regions of the country, which combined make safe return to Cameroon impossible. These “extraordinary and temporary conditions” include three concurrent humanitarian crises, one of which (in the Far North region) constitutes an “ongoing armed conflict” under INA § 244(b)(1)(A).

Both the conflict in the Far North and a second, separate humanitarian crisis in the Anglophone North-West and South-West regions are characterized by widespread violence and human rights abuses by both government forces and armed groups, as well as massive internal displacement. A third crisis is the Central African Republic refugee crisis in the East, where over 300,000 refugees are hosted and access to food, safe water and sanitation services, education and livelihood remain limited for refugees and their host communities.

The UN has stated that nine out of ten regions of Cameroon continue to be impacted by these three complex humanitarian crises. An overarching context of state-sponsored human rights violations, such as restriction of freedom of expression and association, crackdowns on political opposition and dissent, and frequent use of incommunicado detention and torture, also make return to Cameroon unsafe.

As the human rights situation in Cameroon worsens, this new designation of TPS for Cameroon will ensure that the estimated 40,000 Cameroonians currently in the U.S. live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation. As groups continue to document the disparity in treatment of Black migrants in detention centers, TPS will also ease the release of Cameroonians in ICE detention centers so they can return back to their loved ones and communities in the US. Cameroonians have reported agents kneeling on their necks, forcing them to sign papers that will lead to their deportations, beaten, pepper sprayed, and called racial slurs, among other human rights violations.

There are approximately 2,090 current Cameroon TPS beneficiaries who are expected to be eligible to re-register for TPS under the extension.

It is estimated that approximately 7,900 additional individuals may be eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Cameroon. This population includes Cameroonian nationals in the United States with nonimmigrant status or without immigration status.

The Federal Register Notice has been issued, and a lot of Cameroonians need their Form I–821, Application for Temporary Protected Status filled and submitted. TPS provides life-saving protection from deportation and detention for eligible individuals. Cameroon is in the midst of multiple humanitarian crises, war crimes, massive internal displacement, serious human rights abuses by both government forces and armed groups, and critical shortages of essentials including water, food, housing, and healthcare.

Cameroonians in ICE detention are frequently subjected to anti-Black violence, life-threatening medical neglect, and torture, including the use of physical abuse to force individuals into signing their own deportation papers. People forcibly deported from the United States have been subjected to serious human rights violations by Cameroonian authorities upon return, including torture, incommunicado detention, and sexual abuse.

Lawyers will work with individual clients to help them prepare their TPS applications, which most times will be filed with form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Applicants may also need help with filing fee waivers. Each application should require a short time commitment, typically 1.5-2 hours. Most Cameroonians speak English, but Haitian Bridge Alliance, Cameroon Advocacy Network, and allies will provide interpreters, should the need arise.