Sixteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

According to Sylvie Bello, CEO of the Cameroon American Council, and Cameroonian American immigration lawyer Pryde Ndingwan, some 10,000 Cameroonians have fled to ask for asylum in the U.S. since 2016; majority of whom migrated as a result of the ongoing armed conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon otherwise known as Southern Cameroon. This study critically examines the stories of these migrants amongst which are those who have successfully entered and sought asylum in the U.S., those trapped at the Mexican border, those who have settled in South America other than Mexico, and those repatriated to Cameroon by the U.S. government. This is achieved through in-depth interviews contacted using the snowballing method. The research also makes use of archival materials from books, peer-reviewed journals, national as well as international immigration databases to offer a balanced narrative. The review concludes that there is a nexus between the ongoing armed conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon and movement to the U.S. since and recommends appropriate measures to be taken by actors involved to resolve the conflict as it will help reduce the number of Cameroonians moving to the U.S.