Around fifteen people, all from Latin America, who were expelled from the United States landed in Kinshasa on Friday, April 17th. They were sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of an agreement signed between Donald Trump and Félix Tshisekedi.
On April 5th, 2026, the Congolese government announced in a statement the implementation of a “temporary reception system for third-country nationals under U.S. migration mechanisms.”
This agreement followed discussions between Kinshasa and Washington on health and mining. In late February, the two countries signed a $1.2 billion health partnership, aiming for the United States to gather data to fight major epidemics.
This is the latest example of the Trump administration using agreements with African countries to expedite the deportation of migrants in controversial circumstances, raising concerns about the migrants’ rights.
Human Rights Watch estimated in September that these expulsions by the United States under “opaque agreements” violated international law and should be rejected.
Seven women and eight men from Peru and Ecuador landed in Kinshasa on a flight from the United States, according to a source close to the Congolese presidency.
The Congolese government plans to keep them in the country for a short period before considering their situation, including potential legal protection from US judges.
The International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, will offer “voluntary return assistance” for these migrants.
The Congolese Ministry of Communications described the agreement as temporary and reflecting the country’s commitment to human dignity and international solidarity with no cost to the government, as the US will fund the necessary logistics.
The details surrounding the agreement between Kinshasa and Washington remain unclear, with no government sources specifying any potential concessions granted to the Congolese government.
The United States has made similar deportation agreements with at least seven other African countries, including those most affected by Trump administration policies restricting trade, aid, and migration.
In recent months, countries like Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Rwanda, South Sudan, Cameroon, and Eswatini have accepted expelled individuals from the United States.
Questions have been raised by lawyers and activists about the nature of these agreements with African countries. Several of the African countries that signed these agreements have repressive governments with poor human rights records, including Eswatini, South Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea.
