IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1221 

Urging the United States to uphold its commitments under international 

treaties related to refugees and asylum-seekers and halt deportations 

of Cameroonian citizens. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 

Ms. BASS (for herself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. WATERS, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, 

Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. RUSH, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of 

Illinois, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. CLAY, Mr. DAVID SCOTT

of Georgia, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. 

MOORE, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, 

Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. 

VEASEY, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. ADAMS, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. 

PLASKETT, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. EVANS, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. 

MCEACHIN, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. OMAR, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Mr. MFUME, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. CICILLINE, 

Mr. KIND, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, and Ms. JUDY CHU of 

California) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the United States to uphold its commitments under 

international treaties related to refugees and asylumseekers and halt deportations of Cameroonian citizens. 


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•HRES 1221 IH 

Whereas every year people come to the United States seeking 

protection because they have suffered persecution or fear 

that they will suffer persecution due to race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group or 

political opinion; 

Whereas, in 2018, for the first time since the 1980 adoption 

of the Refugee Act, the United States did not lead the 

world in refugee resettlement; 

Whereas the Trump administration has steadily lowered the 

refugee admission ceiling, beginning with a temporary 

freeze shortly after taking office in 2017; 

Whereas, on October 2020, the United States Immigration 

and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed over 60 

Cameroonian asylum-seekers and 28 other African nationals despite recent allegations that many of these individuals were coerced into signing travel documents effectuating their removal; 

Whereas advocacy groups have raised concerns following reports that officials at Adams County Correctional, Winn 

Correctional, and Jackson Correctional Facilities in the 

New Orleans ICE Field Office Region, used coercive tactics such as physical violence, pressure, and threats to obtain Cameroonian individuals’ signatures on deportation 

documents; 

Whereas the number of sub-Saharan African migrants, including Cameroonians, entering the United States 

through Mexico has doubled from 2,700 in 2018 to 5,800 

in 2019 and according to the United Nations Refugee 

Agency (UNHCR) data, the number of Cameroonian asylum-seekers in Mexico increased from 23 in 2016 to 105 

in 2017; 


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•HRES 1221 IH 

Whereas, from 2012 to 2016, the number of Cameroonians 

applying for asylum in the United States has also increased from less than 600 to more than 1,300; 

Whereas the 2019 Department of State Cameroon Human 

Rights Report documented human rights abuses, including unlawful or arbitrary killings, disappearances by security forces, torture, and armed detention by nonstate 

armed groups, including Anglophone separatists, Boko 

Haram, and ISIS-West Africa (ISIS–WA) fighters; 

Whereas Cameroon’s Anglophone population have long been 

marginalized by official actions and policies of the Government; 

Whereas, in 2016, instability gave way to violence and in 

2017 the conflict escalated when Cameroonian security 

forces brutally cracked down on Anglophone civilians 

peacefully demonstrating and displaced large numbers of 

people; 

Whereas nearly 700,000 people have been displaced in the 

northwest and southwest regions alone, with over 

3,900,000 currently in need of humanitarian support, 

thousands have been killed, and the United Nations estimates that there are more than 58,000 refugees seeking 

safety outside of Cameroon; 

Whereas due to the continuing conflict in Cameroon, violence 

against and abuse of the civilian population are the most 

pressing concerns; 

Whereas the UNHCR has documented widespread protection 

issues and human rights violations, including the burning 

of property, kidnapping, rape and sexual assault, child 

labor and abuse, and illegal arrests; 


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•HRES 1221 IH 

Whereas human rights groups have also documented cases of 

extrajudicial executions and torture committed by the 

Cameroonian security forces and by armed separatist 

groups; 

Whereas women, children, and people with disabilities are 

particularly vulnerable to and easy prey for rights abusers; 

Whereas the United States has openly commented on the severity of the crisis in Cameroon and following reports of 

rights violations by the Cameroonian military; 

Whereas the United States halted some of its military assistance yet the number of Cameroonians who are granted 

asylum in the United States has dropped steadily since 

2007; 

Whereas many African countries have shut their borders to 

fight the COVID–19 pandemic and ICE has deported at 

least 189 African nationals to their countries of origin 

since the start of the outbreak; 

Whereas according to the International Rescue Committee, 

more than 20 percent of the ICE detainee population is 

testing positive for COVID–19 and given the high numbers of COVID–19, it is likely that some of the African 

deportees were coronavirus-positive and transported the 

virus back to their country of origin; 

Whereas human rights groups have indicated that those deported face the risk of being arbitrarily arrested, tortured, and even killed upon their return to Cameroon; 

and 

Whereas, in October 2020, members of the Congressional 

Black Caucus and the Committee on Homeland Security 

sent multiple letters to ICE demanding it stop its plans 


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•HRES 1221 IH 

to deport over 200 Cameroonian asylum-seekers and several Senators sent a letter to the Acting Secretary of the 

Department urging the administration to halt deportations of Cameroonian asylum-seekers: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) acknowledges and respects the responsibility 

3 of the United States to refugees, asylum-seekers, im4 migrants, and naturalized United States citizens; 

5 (2) urges the United States to uphold its com6 mitments under the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act and international treaties related to asylum8 seekers; 

9 (3) urges the Department of Homeland Secu10 rity to— 

11 (A) stop deportations, of legitimate asy12 lum-seekers, including Cameroonians, fleeing 

13 state oppression and mass atrocity crimes due 

14 to widespread violence; 

15 (B) immediately provide for alternatives to 

16 detention for these asylum-seekers, except in 

17 cases where a determination is made that such 

18 individuals pose a significant risk to public safe19 ty; and 

20 (C) ensure that asylum-seekers and other 

21 immigrants have access to clear information on 


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•HRES 1221 IH 

1 their rights and obligations regarding their on2 going legal proceedings, case management, and 

3 health services (including testing) in a time of 

4 COVID–19; 

5 (4) urges the Department of Homeland Secu6 rity Office of the Inspector General, to— 

7 (A) immediately investigate allegations of 

8 civil and human rights violations committed 

9 against Cameroonian individuals in the custody 

10 of ICE at the Adams County, Winn, and Jack11 son Parish Correctional Facilities; and 

12 (B) immediately pause the removals of all 

13 potential victims or cooperating witnesses of al14 leged civil and human rights violations until 

15 such an investigation is complete; 

16 (5) urges the Government of Cameroon to re17 spect the fundamental rights of all Cameroonian citi18 zens, including those removed from the United 

19 States under orders of deportation, political activ20 ists, and journalists; and 

21 (6) calls on the international community to use 

22 diplomatic tools to address the root causes of con23 flict and displacement, including by pursuing acVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1221.IH HR1221

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•HRES 1221 IH 

1 countability for war crimes and investing in peace2 building initiatives. 

Æ 


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