In brief
In a recent agreement effective from this month, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) will accept migrants deported from the United States who are not originally Congolese. This deal, officially announced by the Ministry of Communication, includes the establishment of temporary reception facilities in the capital city, Kinshasa. The US will provide logistical and technical support for the initiative, which is part of a broader crackdown on immigration under the Trump administration. While the Congolese government has not specified the number of deportees it will accept, it has clarified that the scheme does not involve forcibly returning individuals to their home countries where they fear persecution.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has agreed to accept migrants deported from the US who are not themselves Congolese under a deal effective from this month, officials said. The Ministry of Communication said a temporary reception system had been set up, while facilities to accommodate arrivals have been selected in the capital, Kinshasa.Logistical and technical support will be provided by the US, the statement on Sunday said, adding that the Congolese government would bear no financial cost for the scheme. The government did not specify how many deportees they would accept. The US has already sent deportees to several other countries in Africa as part of Washington's crackdown on immigration.Amid concerns that migrants could be returned to their home countries - where some fear persecution - Congolese officials said no such transfers are being planned. The decision to receive what are known as third-country migrants - that is those who come from neither the sending nor receiving nation - aligns with DR Congo's commitment to human dignity, international solidarity and the protection of migrant rights, the statement read.The Congolese authorities also emphasized that the scheme is not a permanent relocation mechanism or an outsourcing of migration policies. The BBC has reached out to the State Department and Department of Homeland Security in Washington for comment but has yet to receive a response.President Donald Trump's administration has deported dozens of people to third countries since coming into power last January as part of its hard-line approach toward immigration. Human rights campaigners have condemned the policy, raising questions about its legality. DR Congo joins other African states, including Eswatini, Ghana, and South Sudan, in receiving deportees from the US. Last week, eight individuals from different African countries were deported to Uganda.Furthermore, according to a minority report from the US Senate's committee on Foreign Relations, the Trump administration has likely spent more than $40 million on third-country deportations up to January 2026, although the total cost remains unknown. The US has provided over $32 million directly to five countries including Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini, and Palau. Additionally, the US is negotiating a minerals deal with DR Congo to access the country's vast reserves of key metals such as cobalt, tantalum, lithium, and copper. Under Trump, the US has also facilitated a peace deal between DR Congo and Rwanda, though the implementation presents ongoing challenges.
