By Giulia Paravicini, Ange Kasongo and Clement Bonnerot
KINSHASA, April 3 (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo is in talks with the Trump administration about receiving deportees from other countries, two government sources in Kinshasa told Reuters, in what would be the latest of several such agreements reached in Africa.
The discussions, also described by three U.N. sources and two diplomats briefed by U.S. officials, underscore Washington’s growing reliance on so-called third-country deportations to speed up removals of migrants who entered or remain in the United States without authorisation.
The arrangements are often negotiated quietly, with limited public detail on their scope or terms.
The talks with Congo are coinciding with an effort by the Trump administration to implement a peace deal between Congo and Rwanda and an agreement ensuring U.S. access to Congolese critical minerals.
LEGAL EXPERTS CRITICISE THIRD-COUNTRY DEALS
The United States has sent third-country deportees to African countries including Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Eswatini, drawing criticism from legal experts and rights groups over the legal basis for the transfers and the treatment of deportees sent to countries where they are not nationals.
Some of the migrants have been forced home despite receiving court-ordered protection in the U.S. meant to prevent that from happening.
The talks with Congo have not yet resulted in an agreement and key details remain unresolved, the Congolese sources said. It is not yet known when the first deportation flights might take place, how many migrants could be involved or their nationalities.
It is also unclear what Congo, if anything, would receive in return for accepting deportees.
A source at the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration familiar with the discussions told Reuters the plan could involve migrants from South America, including Venezuelans.
A State Department spokesperson said Washington had “no comment on the details of our diplomatic communications with other governments.”
A spokesperson for Congo’s presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Ange Adihe Kasongo in Kinshasa, Giulia Paravicini in Nairobi and Clement Bonnerot in Dakar; Writing by Clement Bonnerot; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Alison Williams)
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