I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5564 
To designate Cameroon under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act to permit nationals of Cameroon to be eligible for temporary pro-
tected status under such section, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 12, 2021 
Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. NAD-
LER, Ms. BASS, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. TLAIB, 
Mr. KIND, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. BUSH, Mr. POCAN, Ms. LEE of Cali-
fornia, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 
TRONE, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, and Mr. EVANS) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To designate Cameroon under section 244 of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act to permit nationals of Cameroon 
to be eligible for temporary protected status under such 
section, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cameroon TPS Act 
of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Cameroon is in the midst of four ongoing 
armed conflicts generally characterized by state- 
sponsored violence, nonstate transnational terrorism, 
and widespread human rights violations, making 
safe return to Cameroon impossible. 
(2) Since late 2016, the conflict between the 
government and armed separatists has displaced 
over 700,000 people in the Anglophone regions of 
Cameroon and resulted in thousands of civilian cas-
ualties. 
(3) This conflict has also exacerbated long-
standing tensions between farmers and nomadic 
herders over natural resources, resulting in violence 
and increased civilian casualties in the Northwest re-
gion of Cameroon. 
(4) Cameroon’s presidential election in 2018 
and local elections in 2020 exacerbated long-sim-
mering political and ethnic tensions, and each re-
sulted in uprisings and violence. 
(5) In the Far North region, Boko Haram and 
the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) continue 
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to terrorize communities, including by using kidnap-
ping and child soldiers in suicide bombings of 
schools, mosques, and refugee camps. 
(6) The civil war in the Central African Repub-
lic has also spilled over to Cameroon, with cross-bor-
der militias initiating conflicts in the East region. 
(7) These conflicts have led to critical shortages 
of essentials such as water, food, housing, and 
health care, leaving an estimated 4.4 million people 
in need of urgent humanitarian assistance and 
roughly 1 million people displaced internally. 
(8) In 2020, the Department of State reported 
that Cameroonian authorities used these conflicts as 
a pretext to engage in extrajudicial killings, arbi-
trary detentions, torture, and targeted violence 
against marginalized populations. 
(9) Cameroonian authorities have also targeted 
Cameroonians who have fled to the United States. 
Prior to scheduled removal flights leaving the United 
States, government-led protests in front of the 
United States Embassy in Yaounde´ called on the 
United States Government to either criminally 
charge or deport asylum seekers who they alleged 
were backers of Anglophone separatists. 
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(10) The United States nevertheless deported a 
significant number of Cameroonians, reportedly 
under duress, to face politically motivated detention 
and torture at the hands of their government. 
(11) Reports also indicate that upon arrival, 
Cameroonian authorities confiscated identity docu-
ments and monitored activities of all deported indi-
viduals. Family members of such individuals report 
that their loved ones are unaccounted for and fear 
that they may have been redetained by security 
forces. 
(12) Cameroonians in the United States cannot 
return safely to Cameroon without risking detention, 
torture, or displacement. After years of uncertainty, 
these individuals deserve stability and temporary re-
lief in the United States. 
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM-
PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 
(a) DESIGNATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 244 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1254a), Cameroon shall be treated as if it had been 
designated under subsection (b)(1)(A) of that sec-
tion, subject to the provisions of this section. 
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(2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe-
riod of the designation referred to in paragraph (1) 
shall be for the 18-month period beginning on the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE.—As a result of the designa-
tion made under subsection (a), an alien who is a national 
of Cameroon is deemed to satisfy the requirements under 
paragraph (1) of section 244(c) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)), subject to paragraph 
(3) of such section, if the alien— 
(1) has been continuously physically present in 
the United States since the date of the enactment of 
this Act; 
(2) is admissible as an immigrant, except as 
otherwise provided in paragraph (2)(A) of such sec-
tion, and is not ineligible for temporary protected 
status under paragraph (2)(B) of such section; and 
(3) registers for temporary protected status in 
a manner established by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security. 
(c) CONSENT TO TRAVEL ABROAD.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall give prior consent to travel abroad, in 
accordance with section 244(f)(3) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(3)), to 
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an alien who is granted temporary protected status 
pursuant to the designation made under subsection 
(a) if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the 
Secretary of Homeland Security that emergency and 
extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the 
alien require the alien to depart for a brief, tem-
porary trip abroad. 
(2) TREATMENT UPON RETURN.—An alien re-
turning to the United States in accordance with an 
authorization described in paragraph (1) shall be 
treated as any other returning alien provided tem-
porary protected status under section 244 of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a). 
SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
vote on passage. 
Æ 
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