A young woman’s escape from Morocco began and ended in a country she had never set foot in before.
The Associated Press revealed details of the case of a young Moroccan woman, 21, named Farah. She said she fled her family because of her sexual orientation and applied for asylum in the United States because she feared for her safety.
The report said Farah left Morocco with a friend in early 2025, transiting through Brazil and arriving at the U.S. border, where he applied for asylum.
However, the journey did not end there, and they were detained in an immigration detention center for a full year.
Her asylum request was subsequently rejected, but Farah obtained a court order preventing her from being directly deported to Morocco due to safety concerns. Meanwhile, her friend was deported to her home country.
However, what came as a surprise was the decision to deport Farah to Cameroon. She has no nationality and has never lived in Cameroon.
She was placed in a new detention center in Cameroon, but ultimately chose to return to Morocco “of her own free will,” the report said.
The case opened the door to questions about how deportation to a “third country” works, especially since Farah’s journey, which began with an asylum application, turned into a complicated journey across three continents and ended where it began.
A young woman’s escape from Morocco began and ended in a country she had never set foot in before.
The Associated Press revealed details of the case involving a 21-year-old Moroccan woman named Farah. She said she fled her family because of her sexual orientation and sought asylum in the United States because she feared for her safety.
The report said Farah left Morocco with a friend in early 2025, transiting through Brazil and arriving at the U.S. border, where he applied for asylum.
However, the journey did not end there, and they were detained in an immigration detention center for a full year.
Her asylum request was later rejected, but Farah obtained a court order preventing her immediate deportation to Morocco over security concerns. In contrast, her friend was deported to her home country.
The surprise came when the decision was made to deport Farah to Cameroon. Farah has no nationality and has never lived in a country.
She was placed in a new detention center in Cameroon, but ultimately chose to return to Morocco “of her own free will,” the report said.
The case has raised questions about the mechanics of deportation to “third countries,” especially since Farah’s journey, which began with an asylum application, turned into a complicated journey across three continents and ended where it began.
