Around 15 people deported from the United States landed in Congo's capital Kinshasa in the early hours of Friday, marking the implementation of a third-country deportation agreement that aims to address immigration enforcement challenges while keeping costs off the Congolese government's budget. The deportees are all from Latin America, and the Congolese government plans to keep them in the country for a short period, U.S. attorney Alma David told The Associated Press. An official at the Congolese migration agency confirmed the arrivals but did not provide details.
The Arrangement
Congo's Ministry of Communications said in a statement earlier this month that it will receive some migrants as part of a new deal under the Trump administration's third-country program. The arrangement was described as a "temporary" one that reflects Congo's "commitment to human dignity and international solidarity." Crucially, the statement emphasized the arrangement would come with zero costs to the government, with the U.S. covering the needed logistics. The statement said no automatic transfer of the deportees is planned, adding: "Each situation will be subject to individual review in accordance with the laws of the Republic and national security requirements."
David said all the deportees received legal protection from U.S. judges shielding them against being returned to their home countries. She said they are currently staying at a hotel in Kinshasa. The International Organization for Migration, a United Nations-affiliated agency, will be involved to offer "assisted voluntary return," David told AP. David said, "The fact that the focus is on offering them 'voluntary' return to their home country when they spent months in immigration detention in the U.S. fighting hard to not have to go home is very alarming." The IOM did not immediately respond to AP's request for comment.
Broader Third-Country Strategy
The U.S. has struck such third-country deportation deals with at least seven other African nations, many of them among countries hit the most by the Trump administration's policies that have restricted trade, aid and migration. The Trump administration has spent at least $40 million to deport about 300 migrants to countries other than their own, according to a report released recently by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Lawyers and activists have raised questions over the nature of the deals with countries in Africa and elsewhere. Several of the African nations that have signed such deals have notoriously repressive governments and poor human rights records, including Eswatini, South Sudan and Equatorial Guinea.
Why This Matters:
The third-country deportation program represents a practical approach to immigration enforcement when direct returns are blocked by legal protections or uncooperative home countries. By securing agreements where receiving nations bear no financial burden, the arrangement addresses a key obstacle to effective deportation policy. The program's $40 million cost for approximately 300 deportees, however, raises questions about fiscal efficiency and whether alternative enforcement mechanisms might achieve similar results at lower taxpayer expense. The involvement of nations with questionable human rights records underscores the tension between enforcement imperatives and humanitarian concerns, while the case-by-case review process Congo has promised suggests some accountability measures remain in place. The arrangement's success or failure may influence whether such third-country agreements become a standard tool in immigration policy.