File photo: US President Donald Trump with Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi (Picture credit: AP)
The Democratic Republic of Congo will begin accepting third-country nationals deported from the United States from April under a new agreement with the Trump administration, the government in Kinshasa said on Sunday.In a statement, the Congolese government said it would receive deportees from next month, although it did not say how many people it had agreed to take. It added that the arrangement would be fully funded by the United States, with no financial burden on Congo.As per Reuters, the government also said facilities had already been prepared near the capital, Kinshasa, to house the deportees.
Deal comes as US expands Africa deportation network
The agreement makes Congo the latest African country to be drawn into Washington’s growing use of so-called third-country deportations, a policy under which migrants are sent to countries other than their own to speed up removals from the US.Congo had been in talks with the Trump administration over such an arrangement, with discussions also described by UN sources and diplomats briefed by US officials. At that stage, key details including the number of migrants, their nationalities and the timeline had not been finalised.The United States has already sent third-country deportees to several African countries, including Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Eswatini, according to Reuters.
These arranements have increasingly become a core part of Donald Trump’s hardline immigration strategy, with the administration seeking more overseas partners as it pushes to accelerate deportations.
Rights groups and legal experts raise concerns
The expanding use of third-country deportation deals has drawn criticism from legal experts and human rights groups.Critics have questioned both the legal basis of such transfers and the treatment of deportees sent to countries where they are not citizens.
In some cases, migrants have allegedly been sent on despite having court-ordered protections in the United States designed to stop them from being returned to danger.According to the New York Times, the Trump administration has quietly pursued similar arrangements with a number of African states, often offering incentives such as funding, visa relief, tariff easing or other diplomatic concessions in return.US diplomats had been pushed by the White House to secure such deals more quickly, with internal communications suggesting officials were encouraged to ask governments whether they would accept more deportees in exchange for greater support.Some migrants sent to third countries have ended up in detention facilities or holding centres in places with poor human rights records, weak legal systems and limited oversight.
Congo deal overlaps with minerals and regional diplomacy
The timing of the Congo deal is also significant.The arrangement coincides with a broader Trump administration effort to advance a peace deal between Congo and Rwanda, while also securing US access to Congolese critical minerals.That overlap is likely to fuel further scrutiny over whether migration cooperation is being linked to wider geopolitical and economic interests in Central Africa.While the Congolese government has now confirmed the deal, it has still not publicly disclosed how many deportees it will take or which nationalities may be involved.Reuters had previously reported, citing a source at the International Organization for Migration, that the plan being discussed could include migrants from South America, including Venezuelans.
