Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Ivey call on Biden Administration to Establish a Humanitarian Parole Program for Cameroon
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Glenn F. Ivey (MD-04) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, asking him to establish a humanitarian parole program for Cameroon, to protect the thousands of people impacted by violence there. The full letter is available here.
The letter reads in part, “Recently, due to ‘ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Cameroon that prevent individuals from safely returning,’ you redesignated and extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Cameroon. While this is an excellent first step in protecting Cameroonians already present in the United States, it does nothing for the people currently facing ongoing armed conflicts in Cameroon.”
Since 2016, more than 6,000 people have been killed as a direct result of violence in West Cameroon. Additionally, more than 1.7 million are in critical need of humanitarian assistance while over 700,000 have been displaced. Further, members of Boko Haram have taken advantage of the violence to conduct deadly attacks on villages in Cameroon’s northern region.
“We welcome this congressional letter to DHS, especially this week as Cameroon Muslims and other Cameroonians gather in DC for the International Religious Freedom Summit,” said Imam Sale Abdussalam with the Cameroon Muslim Student Union. “This timely letter underscores the fact that 4 of the 5 armed conflicts in Cameroon, including Boko Haram, violates religious freedom and other freedom. Inshallah, we hope Cameroon is granted, Special Humanitarian Parole, just like other that have been both TPS and Parole, such as Afghanistan, Ukraine and Haiti.”
“For over a decade of armed conflicts across Cameroon, Cameroon Muslim women, like women in conflicts areas, bear the brunt of war and displacement caused by war. At the 2024 International Religious Freedom Summit, we lift young Cameroon Muslims like Dahiru who fled the 5 armed conflicts in Cameroon,” said Asana Buinwi- Cameroon Muslimah of North America. “Only to be stuck in Caribbean when a deadly boat accident in the Atlantic ocean left him stranded during Ramadan of 2023. Inshallah, Special Humanitarian will bring Dahiru home to our large Cameroon Muslim community in Prince George's County in Maryland.”
“As a New York-based arts organization, IHRAM, and our Founder, Tom Block, a Queens resident, we are proud of that the welcoming spirit of New Yorker now extends to Cameroon via this timely letter,” said Dr. Geraldine Sinyuy with International Human Rights Arts Movement. “At IHRAM, we have developed and produced poetry, playsand prose to highlight the plights of Cameroon's war and its migrants. Yet, we know that policy is the ultimate action for the urgent immigration relief needed for my people.
“On the margins of the International Religious Freedom Summit, and with the recent New York Times article that gave the historical significance of Humanitarian Parole, yet failed to mention that since its inception in 1950s, not a single African country has ever been grant Humanitarian Parole,” said Sylvie Qwasinwi Ngassa Bello with the Cameroon American Council. “This letter is a step in fighting anti-Africanness in Immigration relief and a push for greater equity as we move into Black History Month.”