US Deports 15 Latin Americans to DR Congo as Judge Calls 1 Removal Likely Illegal
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 22
US Deports 15 Latin Americans to DR Congo as Judge Calls 1 Removal Likely Illegal
5 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 22
15 Latin American migrants deported from the US to DR Congo last month told the BBC they were sent there with little warning and have been stranded in a Kinshasa hotel for a month.
Several said they had pending asylum claims, court protection or CAT relief, contradicting US claims they were in the country illegally; a federal judge last week ordered one woman returned, saying her deportation was likely illegal.
25 hours in restraints, scarce information and recurring illness have defined the transfer and aftermath, the deportees said, describing fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and tight restrictions despite being told they were free to leave.
DR Congo says the arrangement reflects humanitarian solidarity and that the US is paying for the group's temporary stay, but a Congolese rights lawyer said the deal lacks legal basis under refugee protections.
The removals are the first known transfers to DR Congo under Trump's third-country deportation push, expanding his broader mass-deportation agenda beyond migrants' home countries.
A judge called one deportation 'illegal.' What is the fate of others stranded 10,000 km from home?
Why were asylum seekers sent to the DR Congo amid a deadly new Ebola outbreak?
From Latin America to Congo: Judicial Pushback and the Human Toll of Trump’s Third-Country Deportation Policy
Overview
In May 2026, a federal judge made a major decision affecting the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy. The judge ruled that the deportation of Adriana Maria Quiroz Zapata, a Colombian woman sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo, was likely illegal and ordered her return to the United States. This decision was influenced by the earlier case of Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador before being brought back to the U.S. These cases highlight growing legal challenges and set important precedents for other deportees facing similar situations.