Around 15 Latin American migrants deported from the United States arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the early hours of Friday, marking the latest use of the Trump administration's controversial third-country deportation programme. A lawyer representing one of the deportees confirmed the arrivals to the Associated Press, and an official at the Congolese migration agency also verified that the group had landed, though without providing further details.

All of the deportees are believed to hold legal protection granted by US judges, shielding them from being returned to their home countries — protections that make their transfer to Congo particularly contentious. US attorney Alma David, who represents one of the individuals and has spoken with her client since their arrival in Kinshasa, said the deportees are believed to be staying at a hotel in the city. She noted that the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations-affiliated agency, has been brought in to offer what is described as "assisted voluntary return" — a mechanism to help the migrants eventually travel back to their countries of origin. David called this framing "very alarming," pointing out that the deportees had spent months in immigration detention in the United States actively fighting to avoid being sent home.

The DRC — a vast Central African nation that has long been at the centre of complex humanitarian and political crises — agreed to the arrangement earlier this month. The Congolese government described the deal as "temporary" and said it reflected the country's "commitment to human dignity and international solidarity." It also emphasised that the US would bear all logistical costs and that each case would be subject to individual review under Congolese law and national security requirements.

The Congo agreement is part of a broader pattern. The Trump administration has struck similar third-country deportation deals with at least seven other African nations, many of which have also been affected by US restrictions on trade, aid, and migration. Several partner countries, including Eswatini, South Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea, have been criticised by human rights organisations for repressive governance. According to a report by the Democratic staff of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Washington has spent at least $40 million to deport approximately 300 migrants to countries other than their own under this programme.

The widening use of African nations as deportation destinations has drawn sharp criticism from lawyers and activists, who argue the deals circumvent judicial protections and place vulnerable people in countries with which they have no cultural, linguistic, or personal ties. The unfolding situation in Kinshasa is likely to intensify legal and political scrutiny of the administration's migration enforcement strategy.