U.S. Deports LGBTQ Asylum Seeker to Country That Criminalizes Same-Sex Relationships, Drawing Outrage

As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues mass deportations, immigrants are speaking about the horrors they have to endure as they are forced to leave the U.S. Farah, a 21-year-old lesbian woman from Morocco, has recounted her deportation experience to the Associated Press.

Homosexuality is illegal in Morocco making it difficult for Farah to live there. She eventually entered into a relationship with a woman. However, her family learned about her relationship and assaulted her. After being ousted from her home, Farah moved to another city with her partner, but her family continued to threaten her.

The couple then decided to travel to Brazil, from where they planned to enter the U.S. and seek asylum. In early 2025, the duo arrived in Brazil and trekked for weeks before reaching the U.S. After entering the country and seeking asylum, Farah felt her life would finally change, and she would live safely with her partner.

Recalling the journey, Farah said, “You get put in situations that are truly horrible. When we arrived [in the US], it felt like it was worth the trouble and that we got to our goal.” The Trump administration began a crackdown on illegal immigration around the same time.

Farah and her girlfriend were soon arrested by Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE). Farah was held at detention centers in Arizona and Louisiana for almost a year, where she experienced extreme cold and inadequate facilities. Meanwhile, her partner was deported back to Morocco.

While her asylum request was denied, an immigration judge granted Farah a protection order, citing that returning to Morocco would put her life in danger. However, ICE used a legal provision that allows deportation to third countries.

Instead of deporting her to Morocco, ICE sent her to the Central African country of Cameroon, three days before her release hearing was scheduled. Cameroon has not legalized homosexuality.

After being kept at a detention center, she was offered the choice to stay in Cameroon or return to Morocco. She chose the latter option as she believed her life would be at risk in Cameroon.

Farah recollected, “They asked me if I wanted to stay in Cameroon, and I told them that I can’t stay in Cameroon and risk my life in a place where I would still be endangered.” She is now back in Morocco and fears legal consequences because of her sexuality.

Under Moroccan law, same-sex relationships are a punishable offence and could lead to up to three years’ imprisonment. “It is hard to live and work with the fear of being tracked once again by my family. But there is nothing I can do. I have to work,” Farah said.

Countries including Cameroon, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ghana have reportedly signed a financial deal with the U.S. to accept deportees as third countries. The Department of Homeland Security has built detention centers in these countries where migrants are transferred.

Farah is among many people affected by the third-country policy. More than a dozen people have been transferred to a detention center in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, since the beginning of 2026.