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In Cameroon, selling French goods led to being kidnapped by separatists, who tortured him for ransom. Then, government forces arrested & tortured him — for “financing” separatists. But the worst he said was what the US did to him when he claimed asylum. https://lat.ms/3qb1xEW 1/
After escaping through a dozen countries & claiming asylum at the US-MX border, he said US officials detained him for almost a year, then threatened and assaulted him and put him in solitary confinement before deporting him in late October back to Cameroon. He's not alone 2/
“At that point, it’s like the end of the world,” he said, requesting anonymity because he is in hiding back in Cameroon. “It’s a death plane. Even if there was a means to make that plane crash that day, we would’ve done it.” 3/
During Trump’s last weeks, Black & African asylum seekers say, the admin is ramping up deportations using assault & coercion, forcing them back to countries where they face harm, according to interviews, lawyers, lawmakers, advocates & legal complaints reviewed by @latimes 4/
Despite Trump’s assault on asylum, bias against Black asylum seekers, & border closures under pandemic pretext, some 20k Haitians & Africans have journeyed from South America largely on foot to claim protection at the border during his WH,
according to https://bit.ly/3q353RH 5/
according to https://bit.ly/3q353RH 5/
Trump has left Biden with decades-long private-prison contracts; more than 400 executive actions on immigration; a record immigration court backlog of more than 1.2 million cases; and record-high asylum denial rates, reaching around 70% last month 6/
Since Oct, lawyers have filed multiple complaints w/DHS CRCL & @DHSOIG documenting at least 14 Cameroonian asylum seekers at 4 detention facilities alleging coercion & abuse by ICE to force their deportation, & 100+ other related complaints on national detention hotlines 7/
We interviewed 9 asylum seekers from Cameroon, Haiti & Ethiopia-5 deported; 3 detained after attempts; 1 released. Teachers, law students, mothers, babies, who've fled corrupt govs, political persecution, gang rape, torture & detention. They say deportation is a death sentence 8/
“I’m ready to die now,” said K.S., back in Cameroon, hopeless & basically stateless. “If they are going to take me, no problem. I am already dead.” | Please *read* the investigation with @andreamcastillo @latimes -> https://lat.ms/33q8rMu END
