WASHINGTON, D.C. In a powerful move that underscores the gravity of Cameroon’s ongoing conflict, the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, May 5th, introduced a resolution calling on the Department of Homeland Security to establish a Special Humanitarian Parole program for Cameroonian nationals fleeing violence and persecution. The resolution, introduced amid intensifying concerns about the expiration of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Cameroonians, exposes a constellation of overlapping armed conflicts, state violence, and systemic discrimination faced by Cameroonian immigrants at home and abroad.
The resolution comes just a week after the Interim Government of Ambazonia, led by Chris Anu, formally petitioned the Department of Homeland Security, Congress, the U.S. State Department, and the White House, urging an extension of TPS protections specifically for Southern Cameroonians beyond the looming expiration date of June 7, 2025.
“Southern Cameroonians face targeted persecution not experienced by the Francophone population,” Anu wrote in the petition. “Deporting them now is equivalent to a death sentence, and we appeal to the conscience of America to act with justice and urgency.”
The congressional resolution echoes that urgency. It outlines an alarming humanitarian landscape in Cameroon, where five major conflicts—ranging from the Anglophone Crisis to Boko Haram insurgency, authoritarian suppression, and spillover violence from the Central African Republic—have converged to create a catastrophic situation. According to the resolution, more than 4,000 civilians have been killed in the Anglophone regions alone, over 600,000 people displaced internally, and more than 70,000 have fled to neighboring Nigeria. The resolution stated that the school system is decimated, with more than 500,000 children affected.
Cameroon’s authoritarian government, under President Paul Biya—now in power since 1982—is accused of severe crackdowns on political opposition, arbitrary arrests, internet blackouts, and the silencing of dissent. The resolution also notes that Biya’s deteriorating health and decades-long rule have exacerbated the country’s instability.
The situation for Cameroonian immigrants abroad is no better. The resolution highlights numerous cases of discrimination, abuse, and detainment of Cameroonians in ICE detention centers across the U.S., where Black immigrants, despite representing only 7% of the noncitizen population, comprise over 20% of deportation cases on criminal grounds. The document cites hunger strikes by Cameroonian detainees, reports of solitary confinement, and credible findings from Human Rights Watch that returned deportees have been subjected to rape, torture, and arbitrary detention by Cameroonian authorities.
Critically, the resolution challenges claims made by President Donald Trump that TPS for Cameroonians should be revoked because “conditions have improved.” In fact, it must be clearly recalled that President Trump himself, during his administration, imposed significant punitive measures against Cameroon—specifically because of the Anglophone conflict. The United States removed Cameroon from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), cutting off vital trade privileges, and withdrew military aid to the Biya regime after confirming that U.S.-supplied military equipment was being used to commit atrocities in the Anglophone regions.
“These were not symbolic actions. They were direct and consequential responses to the regime’s violence against the people of Southern Cameroons. Crucially, none of these sanctions have been lifted to date—precisely because the same brutal conditions that warranted them still prevail. To now assert that TPS must be revoked due to improved conditions is not only inconsistent with past policy, it is demonstrably inaccurate. If conditions had indeed improved, the very sanctions imposed under Trump 45 would have been reversed. Their continued enforcement stands as a compelling acknowledgment by the U.S. government itself that Southern Cameroonians remain at grave and imminent risk.” Stated Chris Anu in the petition to the authorities.
The House resolution, therefore, calls for three major actions:
- Recognition of the ongoing humanitarian crisis and the unique vulnerabilities faced by Cameroonian and Black immigrants.
- Invocation of Section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a dedicated Special Humanitarian Parole program for Cameroonians seeking protection in the United States.
- Allocation of resources for the resettlement and integration of Cameroonian parolees, including comprehensive support services.
Lawmakers noted that while the United States has established more than 120 categorical parole programs for crisis-affected populations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America since the 1950s, not one has ever been created for any of Africa’s 54 countries. The resolution characterizes this omission as a reflection of “anti-Blackness and anti-Africanness” embedded in U.S. immigration policy—an injustice it now seeks to correct.
As the June 7 TPS expiration deadline looms, activists, human rights groups, and the Ambazonian diaspora continue to ramp up pressure on Washington to uphold protections for Cameroonians fleeing violence and persecution. For Southern Cameroonians, particularly those tied to the pro-independence struggle for Ambazonia, the stakes could not be higher.
“The war is not over, and neither is the danger,” Chris Anu said in a recent televised statement. “We count on America, not just for its laws, but for its conscience.”
The Ambazonian Interim Government and the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) have announced a massive rally in front of the U.S. State Department on May 20th, aimed at sustaining public pressure and appealing to America’s moral authority. Meanwhile, supporters are urging Senator Cory Booker to introduce a companion resolution in the Senate to reinforce the House’s call for urgent humanitarian action.
