Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Fifteen people who were deported from the United States have arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The deportees landed in the capital, Kinshasa, on April 17 as part of an agreement between the US and the DRC.
“The first group, that includes seven women, is made up of nationals from Peru and Ecuador,” a diplomatic source told the Anadolu news agency. US lawyer Alma David, who represents one of the deportees, said the deportees are all from Latin America, and the Congolese government plans to keep them in the country for a short period.
All the deportees are believed to have legal protection from US judges shielding them against being returned to their home countries, David told The AP.
The DRC Ministry of Communications announced earlier this month that it would temporarily accept migrants deported from the US. It said that Washington would cover the costs involved, and that facilities had been prepared near Kinshasa to accommodate them.
The news agency Reuters has reported that the DRC was set to receive more than 30 deportees this week. Other migrants are expected to arrive in groups of about 50 a month, the AFP news agency has reported, citing sources, with the total number to be taken unknown.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that the DRC asked the UN agency for humanitarian assistance with the migrants. Other countries in Africa, including Ghana, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda, have also accepted migrants deported from the US.
Sent to home countries In some cases, the deportees have been later sent back to their home countries despite receiving legal protection from US courts to prevent that from happening.
The Trump administration is thought to have spent at least $40m to deport about 300 migrants to third countries up to the end of January, according to a report compiled by Democrats on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Countries have received lump sums ranging from $4.7m to $7.5m to receive deportees. .
