The United States has begun deporting migrants to African countries under third-country arrangements, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) the latest to confirm it will receive such deportees.
In a statement on Sunday, the Congolese Ministry of Communications said the country would begin receiving migrants from the US this month. It described the arrangement as “temporary” and said it reflected Congo’s “commitment to human dignity and international solidarity”, adding that Washington would cover the costs.
The move is part of a wider policy since last year under US President Donald Trump that has seen migrants deported to countries where they are not nationals. African countries that have received or agreed to receive such deportees or migrants include Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Rwanda and South Sudan, along with DR Congo.
According to reports, the US deported eight people to Uganda. In an earlier case, 14 migrants, including 13 Nigerians and one Gambian, were sent to Ghana. None were Ghanaian nationals.
Court filings in the Ghana case said the migrants were woken in the night and placed on a US military aircraft without being told their destination until hours into the journey. Lawyers argued they had no ties to Ghana and had not designated it as a country of removal.
According to a report by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the administration has spent at least $40 million to deport about 300 migrants to countries other than their own since early 2025. The US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants has said such deportations have been “systematically pursued” since February that year.
Some of those deported had protection orders from US immigration courts barring their return to their home countries due to safety concerns, raising questions about the legal basis of the transfers.
Prof. Jamal M. Moosa, Chairperson, Centre for African Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the practice raises concerns under international law. “Third-country deportation violates non-refoulement. It shortcuts due process of law and makes it difficult for the migrant or refugee, who is already disadvantaged and in a dire situation, to defend themselves,” he said.
“In particular, once they have been pushed out of US jurisdiction, there are cases where courts have ruled in favour of the migrant, but bringing him back by a reluctant administration is an uphill task.”
Moosa said deportees could face serious risks after transfer. “This risks exposure to torture and other forms of degraded treatment. Especially, women deportees may face sexual harassment or end up in the flesh trade.”
He also questioned what happens after removal. “Once the migrant has reached a third country, he is no longer the legal responsibility of the US. Where does the migrant go from there? The economy of many of these countries will not allow them to settle down.”
“It will make the current illegal migrants in the US even more susceptible to exploitation by unscrupulous operators,” he added, arguing that migration flows would continue as long as underlying causes remain unaddressed.
Dr. Rashmi Rani Anand, Faculty, Centre for African Studies, JNU, said assurances by receiving countries were not sufficient safeguards.
“Even if receiving states promise to ensure basic rights, such assurances are not by themselves a guarantee of safety, dignity, or long-term protection,” she said.
“In countries facing conflict, weak institutions, or documented abuses, deportees may remain vulnerable to arbitrary detention, lack of legal status, homelessness, or exclusion from livelihood opportunities.”
She said migrants sent to countries with which they have no social or linguistic connection face particular risks.
“Deportation cannot simply mean physical relocation. It must include individual assessment, protection against refoulement, access to legal status, housing, healthcare, livelihood support, family unity, and independent monitoring,” she said.
“Without such safeguards, ‘resettlement’ can easily become abandonment.”
Legal opposition has also emerged in receiving countries. In Uganda, the Uganda Law Society has challenged the deportations in court, calling them part of a broader pattern of “transnational repression”.
The expansion of third-country deportations comes as the US engages African governments on a range of issues, including trade, aid and security. The DR Congo deal about migrants, in particular, coincides with US efforts to broker a peace arrangement between Congo and Rwanda and to secure access to critical minerals.
