Rhoda’s U.S. immigration protection barred her return to Zimbabwe, but it did not give her a path to citizenship. In August, U.S. authorities deported the Tucson mother of three to Cameroon less than a week after arresting her at her workplace in Valley City, North Dakota, KJZZ reported.
Rhoda had lived in Tucson for more than 20 years. Originally from Zimbabwe, she received withholding-of-removal protection in 2016 after an earlier asylum decision was overturned; the protection prevented her from being sent to Zimbabwe, but did not confer citizenship. KJZZ reported that her work permit was valid until 2029 and that she had no criminal record.
The unresolved question is what process applied
The Department of Homeland Security said Rhoda had a final removal order and that she received due process. ICE agents told Rhoda she had missed required check-ins; Rhoda told KJZZ she had not been informed of an appointment and believed her documents were in order. She was transferred among five immigration facilities before being deported from Louisiana. KJZZ reported that she did not see a judge in custody and had no opportunity to meet a lawyer before her removal. The available account does not establish what process officials relied on or resolve the dispute over the missed appointment.
The destination also raises questions distinct from her protection against return to Zimbabwe. KJZZ reported that the United States and Cameroon signed a third-country removal agreement in December 2025, and that Rhoda was among at least 53 people sent there under the deal. A State Department diplomatic note said Cameroon agreed to treat deportees consistently with its international obligations and not subject them to persecution or torture. KJZZ reported a WhatsApp call from Rhoda in Yaoundé, and that a lawyer assisting deportees said none had yet received asylum protection in Cameroon.
A separate court order offers a limited comparison
A federal judge has ordered a remedy in another third-country removal case, but that ruling does not determine Rhoda’s rights. The Arizona Daily Star reported that Phoenix resident Ahmed Soliman was deported to Equatorial Guinea on April 28 and that, on Oct. 6, a judge ordered the U.S. government to facilitate his return after finding that his removal without notice or an opportunity to object violated due process. Soliman’s destination, case record and ruling were different; the order does not establish whether the same reasoning applies to Rhoda.
Available estimates also describe different slices of the broader system and should not be treated as a single count. Third Country Deportations Watch told KJZZ that more than 25,000 people had been deported to countries where they had no ties since the second Trump administration took office. A Berkeley News report counted 21,644 removals to 28 countries through Aug. 31, while Al Jazeera, citing DHS data, reported more than 16,000 third-country deportation cases through August and cautioned that figure was likely an undercount. The sources use different data and methods, so the figures do not by themselves show a like-for-like trend.
The circumstances of Rhoda’s removal remain contested: DHS’s assertion that she received due process and the family’s account of her rapid removal remain in tension; the separate Soliman ruling does not settle that dispute.
